Venier Caliper Days

This evening I had one of my "why me, why us" moments. It was brief, but still made its appearance; something that has been more frequent these days.

Why do we always seem to take the bumpiest, longest "road" to get anywhere? Where are the easy routes, and why are they so often obscured from our vision? Aren't we all using the same map, or are some people gifted with the latest and greatest, while the rest of us muddle through with outdated information and blurred print?

I think it's because we, Cameron and I, need to take the time to understand our surroundings and digest where we've been. There are lessons in each mile that we didn't learn the last time we came through these parts, but ones that we can now figure out if we put our heads together. Sometimes the lessons are painful and the routes run through old scars of past trips. Rather than breeze through the rocky terrain, anxious to move ahead, we stop and discuss other potential, perhaps more scenic, routes through the same locale.

Cameron is finished with the theory portion of his training. Today he spent several hours learning tedious details and methods for using a "venier caliper". It is used to measure engine parts and other things that relate to the motorcycle. (I have to admit that as he told me about it, my mind stuck on the name of the device, mulling it over in my head, as he was relaying the more technical information about it.) Anyway, he spent the better part of today's 5 hour class studying about this instrument, only to be informed, in the end, that it is considered an antiquated device which has been replaced with a digital version that does much of the work for you. Without this knowledge of the outdated caliper, would he appreciate the value of what he has to work with today and in the future.

The long way around, the rockiest path, the faded map; in the last 3 1/2 years I have learned more about me, and about relationships, than I had in the previous 44. Our combined knowledge and experience, mixed with a lot of collaboration, has gotten us through deep potholes and up sheer cliffs. I'm learning to appreciate the past and to understand how it got me to where I am now. The map is getting a little clearer and the road ahead is a little smoother.