Editor’s Column: The trouble with maintenance

Maintenance: “the care or upkeep as of machinery or property,” is one of the most frustrating

realities of life. It’s ongoing, demanding, constant. Wash the dishes one day and you’ll have more dishes to wash the next day. Mow the lawn this weekend, and you’ll need to mow the lawn again next weekend (or tomorrow, if you’re really into yard work). Paint that trim and it will need to be repainted in a year or two. Vacuum the carpet and as soon as the next family member has a snack it will need to be vacuumed again. Laundry is only “done” until someone changes clothes.
For my 40th birthday I bought a cute little sporty car. It was fun to drive, I could park anywhere and it was the antithesis of the ginormous Yukon XL I’d hauled my kids and their friends around in for years (it also performed better in the snow and got more than 12 MPG). But my little Audi TT had a problem. Its previous owner hadn’t kept up with the recommended maintenance. Just weeks after bringing the car home, the timing belt broke. Fortunately, it busted while the car was in my garage and the engine was spared. My car spent most of its years with me in the shop or in the garage having essential parts replaced because regular maintenance hadn’t been performed on schedule.
It’s not just our cars and homes that demand regular care and upkeep. It’s our physical bodies, too. We have to eat the right kinds and amounts of food, get regular exercise, rest and have regular check-ups if we want these bodies to live up to their full potential. We can’t mistreat our bodies and expect them to keep ticking along any more than we can abuse our cars and expect them to keep running at ideal performance levels. The same is true for our mental and spiritual and relational well-being.
Maintenance requires sacrificing time and money and sometimes comfort. But the benefits are worth the cost. Do the maintenance, whether it’s getting a checkup or fixing that plumbing leak or getting the timing belt fixed on your car.You’ll save both time and money in the long run.

Inside this edition you’ll find the first issue of our new magazine, Adventure Colorado. It has completely fresh content, lots of local advertising, and has already been distributed to all of the Colorado Visitor Centers statewide. We hope you’ll enjoy reading it!

This week we continue a long-standing Herald Times tradition of honoring our graduation seniors. This week it’s Rangely High School’s Class of 2017 and next week it will be Meeker High School’s graduates.
To all of you who are turning your tassels in the next few weeks, remember this: commencement is not an ending so much as it is a beginning. Start this next chapter of life with the future, not the past, in mind. Good luck and Godspeed to all of you!