This month, I turned 50. The big 5-0. Time for the mid-life crisis car (no fling required, as my wife is a goddess to be worshipped), major life reviews, and (my favorite part) chocolate cake! Over 18,000 days. Over 435,000 hours. Over 2.6 million minutes. Whew. That's a lot of time. But even so, a 50th birthday is just another day on the calendar. Should we really celebrate a mere flip of the calendar or click of the clock?

Allow me to be the first to offer a resounding "YES!"

Now it's not just because I'm the one hitting 50. I actually got the idea for this article in a class I was teaching today. A woman in one of my classes, Christine, was having a birthday, and one of her co-workers got a cake and asked if I'd be willing to pause for ten minutes for the celebration. Christine did not have your typical adult reaction to the surprise. When we announced the break, her reply was, "Great! I love this. I love birthdays. This is SO nice. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thanks!" Her response was warm and genuine. It was unequivocal. She was truly appreciative that those in the room were joining her in acknowledging her special day.

As adults, we sometimes feign indifference by saying that such events are not necessary or too much bother. I think Christine's reaction was perfect. It was not too much bother. It was necessary. She was not only excited about her own birthday, but she wanted others to be there as well.

In the middle of a project, progress is often slow, if not downright glacial. It's moving, but it's very hard to see the motion. In many cases we "soldier on," pushing ahead with our work, but not feeling the satisfaction we somehow sense that we should. And if someone does acknowledge our accomplishments, we feel somehow tainted if we don't downplay it with comments like "Just doing my job," or "No problem." We should take a lesson from Christine, genuinely celebrating the opportunities that the situation affords. Even more, we should take a page from Christine's co-worker, who so adroitly acknowledged a day that would have passed like any other, but instead became a special team moment.

The passage of time is an amazing thing. My wife's grandfather is in his mid-90s and remarkably sharp. Every day of his life is now a treasure. My wife and I are nearing our 24th anniversary. Having put up with me for that length of time, she deserves acknowledgement. A peer's project is now entering its third year (when it was supposed to be done in two). Is that a cause for celebration? In my mind, it definitely should be. We need to revel in the fact that the organization still sees it as sufficiently valuable to warrant ongoing investment. We need to rejoice that the customer is still anxiously awaiting the deliverables. We need to provide a pat on the back to those team members who have been with the project for an extended period of time and remain dedicated to its completion.

Carl, isn't that just damning with faint praise? Don't we run the risk of creating a sense that we'll acknowledge things that really aren't worth acknowledging, or worse? Don't we run the risk of encouraging projects to drag out?

I won't say those aren't risks. But I think they're outweighed by the authentic and very personal need of each human being for a modicum of recognition. We all need some basic appreciation that we are contributing members of our respective communities and we need the nod that our contributions are not altogether ordinary. In some instances, that sense of the extraordinary need be no more than a round of applause or a meeting acknowledgement or a small cake shared amongst peers. If it is offered with a true sense of appreciation for contributions, achievement, or even just the significant passage of time, we open the door for the Christine-like gratitude of those who are willing to accept and embrace it. If we fall short on those acknowledgements, those team members who do need that acknowledgement will be left wanting unnecessarily.