Milestone Moments

Whistles, cheers, and a low, rumbling chant: “one oh, one oh”—we heard it half a mile away. A moment later we saw flags waving and teens crowding toward the school’s doors. I noticed a number of new shoes and backpacks still bearing store-fresh creases. My daughter was somewhere in that crowd, sporting a sea-foam green t-shirt bearing the hot-pink logo “10.” Dots of sea-foam green adorned the crowd: Senior girls dressed to celebrate their first day of class as top of the heap. Waves of enthusiastic energy burst across the campus and into the street; they caught me up and took me back to such a day in my life. And in a season of life that at best could be described as perplexing and at worst as demoralizing, that enthusiastic, anticipatory energy gave me hope.

Such formative moments are like milestones on our life’s journey. As we first pass them, the milestones form tangible evidence that we have, indeed, come this far. Looking back on them in tough times, they become tangible reminders that things have not always been so and, indeed, may not always be.

What milestones form your life’s journey? What did they mean to you as you passed them? What meaning do they hold for you now? Consider graphing your milestone journey; you might write it, draw it, sculpt it, sew it, or . . . Then, if you like, share your experience of the practice with us.