What Adam Sandler Taught Me About Priorities

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One of my favorite Adam Sandler movies is Click. Sandler plays a workaholic who comes across a magic remote control that allows him to pause or fast forward over parts of his life. But he quickly loses control and discovers he’s missed out on most of the great moments of life. He’s also neglected his family…he ends up old, divorced, and alone, and he has missed out on most of his children’s lives. They grew up without him.

Lying in a hospital bed after suffering a massive heart attack he realizes that his mistakes are about to repeat themselves as his son is going to skip his honeymoon to attend to business. There’s a touching seen at the end where Sandler is struggling to catch up with his son to tell him “Family comes first.”

When I first sat down to watch Click I thought it was strictly a comedy, but it ended with with a powerful message that really struck me hard. As a dad I struggle to balance work and other responsibilities with family time. I’m sure you do too.

Our lives are so busy and full of chores, errands, and responsibilities that it can be easy to lose sight of what really matters. Nothing is more important to me than my family, but at times I still find myself putting other things before them…working, blogging, projects around the house, etc.

Then I have to sit back and remind myself of what’s really important. When the kids are pulling at me to come play it’s easy to say “No, daddy has work to do.” But it breaks their little hearts.

Time moves fast and before long they’ll be all grown up. So I make sure to spend some quality time with them every single day now while I can. It doesn’t take much to make my little ones happy…it can be as simple as sitting on the floor coloring or doing a puzzle together. I cherish that time because I know it won’t last forever.

I hope you understand the importance of family and children. If you find yourself pushing them aside because you have other things that need to get done…stop. Look at their little faces and remember they won’t be little forever. If you don’t stop to enjoy them now you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.