We recently returned from North Carolina where we celebrated a friend’s birthday. One hundred guests spent the better part of the evening on the dance floor. Friends toasted, sang songs, and played guitar.  A loop of photographs chronicled the honoree’s life on flat screen tvs.

Our friend’s photographs included baby pictures, childhood shots, candid college pictures, wedding photos, and numerous images of his growing family and friends throughout the years.  His life looped before our eyes.  I felt fortunate to be a part of his life and grateful for the opportunity to celebrate with his friends and family.

Special occasions  are meant to be celebrated.  It’s easy to dismiss milestones, however events are worth the time, effort, and resources.

A stunning example of a family experiencing challenges yet celebrating birthdays, graduations, and Thanksgiving is the family depicted in the newly released film “Boyhood.”

“Boyhood” stars Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, and Lorelei Linklater.  Directed by Richard Linklater, who filmed the same cast over the course of twelve years, “Boyhood” begins in the year of a first grade boy, Mason, and ends on Mason’s first day in college.

Linklater demonstrates life’s brevity.  He reminds us that life’s trajectory is a combination of grit, luck, and necessary losses.  The “Boyhood” film family grows up while the audience watches in their seats.  People in real time age in what often seems like “fast forward.”

Check out “Boyhood” in the New York Times.

If you have a birthday, anniversary, or special occasion ahead, plan an event. Your friends who visit from next door or North Carolina will be glad you did.  You will too!

Life is short.  Celebrate!