What does it take to measure when — or if — we’ve “arrived,” when we’ve “made it?”

For some it may be paying off a dream home, for others, completing a doctoral degree or retiring from work altogether.

According to the Los Angeles Times, an athlete knows he has made it when the right sports teams are bidding for him, an actor when he lands that leading role on the big screen.

All of these goals and desires are worthy of celebration. But none of them makes a meaningful difference in the world.

This month’s Hometown Heroes, Wren and Mitzi MacLean, say they “arrived” once they “got it.”

“What we got is that our life isn’t about us at all,” Wren said.

“We feel our life is about what we can give,” said his wife. “No one can define what it means to give. That is something personal and individual to each of us.”

According to John M. Watson, a Clinton attorney and volunteer, the MacLeans give by tutoring kids; volunteering at the Bayview Senior Center; spending time at Helping Hand, their church and numerous other places; and giving their time, talent and money.

“Wren is like a father figure to me,” Watson said. “He and Mitzi are a role model for me how to live out the Christian life.”

Wren says he remembers distinctively when he “got it” about money.

“I was in my late 20s,” he said. “The church plate was passed as it was every Sunday, and I put my usual amount in. My friend next to me tapped me on the shoulder and quietly whispered, ‘Wren, two bucks just ain’t gonna cut it.’ Well that hit me. Next pay raise we got, all of it went to the church.”

One of Wren’s talents is handcrafting exquisite Tiffany-style lamps and stained glass, says Natalie Hahn, artist and owner of Red Tail Glassworks.

“Oh my gosh, do you have five hours, because that’s the only way to describe Wren’s artistic talent,” Hahn said. “His daughter Bonnie taught him 25 years ago. Each piece takes him months to complete. And then, what does he do? He donates the proceeds to charities.

“He is an amazing man. Someday I hope to be like him.”

Dave Anderson of Island Greens says the MacLeans volunteer more than anyone he knows.

“They are my mentors of how to age in style,” Anderson said. “They believe and live the adage, ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ “

In the 1960s, the MacLeans experienced the agony of being out of work.

“First I was demoted from my manager position, then soon fired,” Wren said. “It was real traumatic, a real low point. I became withdrawn and depressed. I didn’t even want to leave the house. I realized I certainly wasn’t as hot as I thought when I first graduated from college.”

He finally found another job, but he had to uproot the family and take them 1,000 miles away from their home and friends. Unfortunately, after awhile Wren lost this job, too. If that was not devastating enough, it happened again in the next job. He said he didn’t think he could feel much lower. For a few months he was just numb, unable to even go out and look for work.

Wren finally did find the right manager’s job, and worked there until he retired.

“My advice for anyone in a similar situation is to make the extreme effort to make yourself think positively,” he said. It is something he admits is very difficult under these circumstances.

“Pretend at first if you have to, join a support group, whatever it takes, to guard yourself from sinking into a depression, because once there, it’s just so hard to jerk yourself back into a positive frame of mind,” he said.

Getting out of ourselves and helping those around us who are also having a hard time is probably the best thing we can do to lift ourselves up, he said.

“All I can say about some of these traumatic experiences is I wish they hadn’t happened,” Wren said. “Then again, maybe we need these to catch on that our life is not our own.”

Volunteers and friends Bob and Ethel Waters say the MacLeans take their own life experience to a higher purpose, to help someone else in a similar plight. When Mitzi was bedridden for a year, neighbors assisted with meals. She was so ill that relatives took in their young children. The Waterses say Mitzi and Wren never forgot the help they received, and have been giving back in similar ways ever since.

Mitzi remembers that year of illness, how she thought she had completely lost her mind. It took almost a year before they found a doctor that finally diagnosed her with a severe case of encephalitis. Her disease caused her to feel she hadn’t a grip on anything she said, her mind totally confused. Perhaps that’s why, the Waterses say, Mitzi was one of the first volunteers at the local Alzheimer’s program.

Yet, Bob Waters said, the MacLeans don’t expect appreciation.

“I can hear them now, insisting they do not deserve any recognition, they’d say, ‘It’s nothing — -just a little way of helping.’ “Wren’s wry sense of humor is juxtaposed against his humility and service and enlivens his personality. They are both great examples, so they should relax and enjoy this well-deserved praise.”

The Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton, rector of St Augustine’s in-the-Woods, writes about his parishioners, Wren and Mitzi.

“They are the kind of people that notice if someone has been missing from church. Wren will call to make sure all is OK. He will visit, or take people long distances to their appointments. They are especially vigilant about visiting when someone is seriously ill.” Taber-Hamilton notes that both are also dedicated environmentalists, organizing recycling bins and always showing up for church work parties.

“Their entire retired lives have centered around service to others,” said daughter Carol MacLean of Langley. “I recall many beautiful sunny days when instead of playing golf Dad would be in a ferry line on the other side taking someone to a doctor’s appointment.”

Her mother, MacLean said, is a voracious reader, but will give up an afternoon of reading to drive up to Careage and visit a lonely soul in the nursing home.

“Their modest fixed retirement income is spent mostly on charity,” she said. “I could not be more proud of the people they are. A quote I love reminds me of the way they live: ‘Service is the rent you pay for living.'”

Sue Kimmel, activities director for the Time Together Alzheimer’s program at the Bayview Senior Center, says this about the Macleans.

“Behind their busy hands are warm and generous hearts, moved by a faith that inspires compassion, love and action. Mother Teresa once said that when our time comes, God would recognize us by our hands. I have no doubt that Wren’s and Mitzi’s hands will be recognized.”