On The Sheer Joy Of Driving A Jeep

I’d forgotten how much I love driving. Often, I avoid going places at all. But sometimes? Being on the road when the sun hints the end of the day is near, the world feels like endless possibilities. These moments make me feel as if we can each go anywhere. Driving on a road becomes a path to more.

Maybe it’s that there’s nothing to do other than drive and listen to a good audiobook or a favorite song. Possibly, it’s knowing that at any time, you can simply keep going and see where you end up. Maybe it’s choosing to return home anyway.

On The Sheer Joy Of Driving A Jeep

The first car I bought was a used 1984 Jeep. A CJ7 Renegade. It had 99,000 miles on it and needed some work. I loved it. Like, loved loved loved it. Driving a Jeep made me happy. At first, I got too many speeding tickets, and once, when the top was off, a cop pulled up beside me at a light and asked why I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. “They get dusty,” I said. “And leave a mark on my shirt.”

“I’ve scraped the leftovers of people off the pavement with a shovel,” he replied. I’ve worn my seatbelt since, even back when my open-top Jeep’s seatbelt was filthy and I put a bandana between it and my shirt. 

11 years later, that Jeep caught on fire after I replaced the engine. It lived in my garage for another year before I could bring myself to sell it.

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Over the years, I’ve had a few cars. Some, I’ve even been excited about, like my VW EOS – I decided the convertible top was built because the designer liked Transformers.

Not one single vehicle I’ve owned or leased over the years has brought me the sheer joy my 1984 CJ-7 Jeep did.

Each time we consider a new car, I mention a Jeep. “Too loud, too bumpy, bad gas mileage, too impractical,” Robert reminds me. I remember how my CJ7’s windshield leaked into the stereo when it rained, that it was broken into at least eight times, and I concede.

Lease a Honda. Another Honda. Practical. Good gas mileage. Leaky windshields aren’t an issue with the Hondas I’ve had anyway.

Three years ago, Robert and I leased two Hondas on the same day. The best part was the dealership gave us license plates one digit apart. The Virginia plates hang in our game room (having been replaced with Colorado plates after we moved). Both leases were due this month. At first, I thought I’d buy my lease and keep the CRV. He thought maybe he’d get a hybrid.

But on Monday?

Friends, I bought a new Jeep. A fancy-schmancy beautiful badass lovely wonderful amazing I FEEL TOTAL JOY Jeep. I’m pretty sure the model I got means leaky windshields won’t be an issue, although when I remove the hard top this summer, getting caught on the road in a hail storm might be. 

OMG Jeeps Make Me Happy

It’s not the most practical vehicle for sure. But I’ll say this – after we signed the papers at the dealership, it’s the first time I did a little hop-skip to see my new car since 25-ish years ago with what I may now refer to as my starter Jeep.

Because I’m pretty sure I’m never going to be a Honda girl again. Don’t get me wrong – I think Hondas are awesome and safe and they have served me very well time and again.

My Honda purchases (and leases) have never found me foolishly grinning when I greet them in a parking lot. When I ask myself “Where are you going?” in life and on the road for errands or for fun, I think I’d like to be going there while driving a Jeep.

Tucker feels it too. On Tuesday, as we got ready to leave for school, he was dragging his feet like always. That is until he went into the garage and saw the new Jeep. The smile on his face was priceless. “Want to ride in the front?” I asked. He did, and had the window down the whole way, in spite of the freezing temperatures. 

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This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday post, using the photo prompt the amazing and talented Mardra Sikora supplied with the caption “Where are you going?”