Milestone

There are important milestones in life. Certainly, accomplishments and events such as graduations, marriage, and the birth of a child qualify. Most people also experience less public milestones, including career advancement or leaving an addiction. Whether public or private, milestones deserve celebration. Celebration is important for helping us to see our progress. As we advance along a chosen path, or when we've reached the end of a path and attained a goal, celebrating keeps us motivated to keep choosing the right paths. It is a means of unleashing gratitude and connecting with those who helped us reach our path's milestones.

In our case today, our path was mostly asphalt and our milestone was literally measured in miles. 300,000 to be exact.

300,000 miles

This milestone has been more than 20 years in the making. Our role in this accomplishment began in June of 2011 when we took ownership of the car we affectionately call "The Camry". (I know, real original.) When my parents bought a new car, they suggested we give our hand-me-down Buick to the African refugees they were serving in Salt Lake City, and they sold us their Camry for $1, which also happens to be the amount required by law to transfer title. They had taken great care of the car, and Kent was excited to advance to a better auto audio system.

March of 2014 marked another important entrance into The Camry's life. That was the first time our car met the mechanics at Clegg Auto for its first oil and filter change there. In their hands, The Camry continues to drive well, even in her old age. Last year when she got stuck on a gravel driveway, and we wondered if she would ever run the open road again, the guys at Clegg gave her the car version of hip replacement surgery; I think the technical term was a new driver's side ball joint and axle.

1. She's fallen and she can't get up!
(Cars struggle when their wheels aren't parallel.)
2. Aw, back in the pre-deer meeting when The Camry
still had her insignia. (Cars also struggle with teen drivers.)

So of course Clegg Auto had to be part of the celebration! This afternoon, Kent ordered pizzas for the guys and they all posed with the car to laud it's new odometer reading. Celebrate good times!

Post script: I'm glad the shop was open today (Monday). Kent reached 299,994 in the car last Wednesday. He's had this pizza party in mind for the last 300 miles, and when he didn't make it in before they closed for Thanksgiving weekend, he was adamant that no one put any more miles on The Camry. Since we celebrated Thanksgiving as a family, it worked fine to have only the van available for the holiday--but I was not loving Kent's suggestion that I drive him to work Friday to avoid overage. Thankfully, he instead stayed home all weekend and helped with house projects. If he had pressed me on chauffeuring him around town, I would have followed #5's idea to secretly drive the car during the night, pushing it past 300K and pushing Kent past his hang-up on the event of that number turning in the mechanic's parking lot. It all worked out for the best; celebrate!