“Are we there yet?”
I count myself lucky that my 12-year-old son loves a good road trip as much as I do. But this summer, he uttered those dreaded words.
At the time, it was a good question, and one that I was also asking myself.
Ten minutes away from our hotel in Glenwood Springs, the highway had closed because of mudslides. We were directed off the road by a weary construction worker, who was sympathetic to our situation, but firm:
There was no road.
We had to exit.
The detour would take us on a four-hour loop through Steamboat Springs. (You heard that right: four. hours.)
It’s an iconic scenic drive. Except that it was almost midnight, too dark for us to enjoy the gorgeous views.
And once we reached those mountain passes, we lost cell service. Without a signal for my map app, I could no longer figure out where I was (beyond the obvious: we were headed north on a winding two lane road.) How was I supposed to get to wherever-it-was that we were going?
Are we there yet, indeed?
And then I caught a glimpse of a mile marker.
Of course! I had forgotten all about them!
My mind flashed back to childhood family vacations navigated by paper maps. I loved to study the dog- eared atlas in the back seat, as the scenery breezed by. I could locate landmarks by matching the funky symbols in the key. I’d answer my own questions about how long things took by adding up the miles, written in miniscule numbers along the ink roads.
The milepost reassured me. I didn’t feel disoriented anymore. I pointed the next one out to Drew: 58 Miles. That meant we had 22 miles to go.
We were going to make it.
We need mileposts!
Our mileposts are often those once-in-a-lifetime events, like weddings and graduations.
They’re also smaller, meaningful moments.
I still have a souvenir pin that my friend bought me after I skied my first double diamond bowl. I was blindly following him when he dropped into the shoot. He was a much better skier than I was, but I had no intention of being left behind. After I successfully maneuvered out without breaking any bones, my confidence skyrocketed. It might sound silly to you, but it was a really big deal to me. It’s one of my mileposts!
We intuitively understand that the act of gift- giving is important.
Throughout history and cultures, gift-giving helps us to define relationships and strengthen bonds. It’s a tangible way to express that we love someone, we’re proud of them, we’re grateful for them, we like them. It’s joyful!
The actual gift is important, too: the good, old-fashioned kind that someone wraps and hands to you.
We attach memories to objects,
The object- the gift- helps us remember.
Memories are the stuff of Life. They create the mileposts.
In their book, The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath explore the science behind memory making. They suggest types of moments that create happy memories:
Our mileposts influence our future direction because they’re infused with memories. Our ability to predict the future is related to our ability to remember the past.
When we give a gift, we’re letting the recipient know that we believe that their future is bright.
We’re grateful for our shared experiences.
We’re thrilled that we have a lot to look forward to, together.
Are you ready to inspire community, camaraderie, and connection?
Let us help you create a Milepost Moment!
Invoice & Payment:
You should receive an invoice within 24 hours of the project start date with your Gift Concierge. Most orders will require a nonrefundable deposit of up to 50% of your order in advance of your ship date. Once the gift has been selected and finalized, the balance of the order cost will be invoiced and will include shipping as a separate line item. For credit card or ACH payments, the Customer Portal can be used to pay your invoice directly. In some cases, we can issue a direct invoice, should the customer organization require this. Note that volume orders will be assessed a 3% fee for credit card processing, which can be avoided by paying via ACH.
Addresses, Returns & Cancellations:
Please note that we are unable to reship gifts that are sent back to our fulfillment center due to the nature of our gift products. As such, all addresses in your order form are considered final. Once your order has been submitted to our fulfillment center, there will be a $50 fee to change or remove any addresses. Though we are happy to accommodate address changes in this way, please note that this will result in your full order being pulled from the queue and may result in a later shipping date. This ensures a seamless and on-time gifting process for all clients. (Tip: Ensure floor and suite numbers are included, especially for packages going to offices or universities. This is typically the primary reason for returns.) We cannot honor any cancellation requests once the gifts have shipped. Any requests to cancel an order that has already been submitted to our fulfillment center is subject to a $50 cancellation fee + the price of custom goods procured.
Timeline:
For custom or unique orders, our Gift Concierge team will work with you to meet deadlines and provide accurate and transparent information on order gift shipping times.
Shipping:
We ship all gifts from our fulfillment center, located in the Detroit area. Estimated shipping times for the continental U.S. are: Midwest: 1-3 days, Northeast: 2-4 days, South: 2-4 days, West: 2-5 days, based on exact shipping address. Although we do our very best to package and ship your gifts with great care and consideration, we can not control delays or issues with lost shipments caused by carriers such as FedEx or USPS. If you experience any other issues with gift delivery, please email CustomerService@MilepostGifts.com or visit your customer portal.
Shipping costs are always billed separately for each customer order and will be included in the final customer invoice.
Tracking:
Once your gifts have shipped, you will receive an email with tracking information for your entire order.
Questions?
Reach out to our team so we can ensure you have a smooth and delightful order experience. Contact your Gift Concierge member directly or our Support team at CustomerService@MilepostGifts.com to assist you.