Good Morning – several years ago there was an IKEA
commercial that showed – of all things – a lamp being discarded in the trash. Many
of you watched in disbelief as the commercial moved from sunshine and rain and
the “little lamp” was left on the street corner to wait with the rest of the
garbage. Reality struck when the spokesperson from IKEA stated…”it is only a
lamp…it has no feelings” and we were all bought back to reality. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqhIVyfsRg)
This morning I
had my own “it has no feelings” moment as I have just sold my youngest son’s
Jeep…and I will admit…I did so with a heavy heart!
I grew up learning how to drive on an old 53 Jeep my father
had in the back yard. I can’t remember how I got it started but did and managed
to drive right through the hedge row that separated my grandparents’ home from
the neighbors. It was thrilling and scary all at that the same time. From that
point on…I was hooked. Virtually every posting and city that I have lived in I
have had a Jeep…but none meant more to me than the one I bought this past year for
Ian. When you transition from your own wants and needs to those of your children
and (luckily) they mirror your own…you become a very happy parent.
When the call came in that “I want a Jeep Dad” I was the quintessential
happy camper! After cruising countless EBay and Craigslist postings I found our
Jeep…in of all places Texas! I figured a couple of hundred bucks to transport
it to Virginia ($500) and then I could teach Ian how to drive it! I soon
realized that although I really liked this Jeep, eleven (yes…11) miles per gallon
was not going to cut it for a commuter vehicle…but hey…I was not going to ruin
his dream (or mine) by worrying about the economic impact this vehicle will
have on my wallet!
Suffice to say that after spending another thousand dollars
(yes…$1000) on a new exhaust we were in deep on this truck! Ian even went out
and purchased additional items such as seat covers, sound bar and accent pieces
for the outside of the vehicle. We had a bikini top installed as well. All told
we sank a lot of money into our “baby” to make it what we wanted…and in the end
the reality is that it is an 11 MPG vehicle that really does not fit what we
need.
So here it is…a year later and our Jeep is no more. The
young man who bought the truck is an Army guy with a large amount of disposable
income and no kids. He will take the truck and paint it as well as change out
some other items…all in an effort to make it his Jeep…and I applaud him for the
effort. I could see that as soon as he had the keys in his hand he had “found
her” and his day was now complete!
Ian and I discussed selling her many weeks ago – there was
trepidation but reality as well plays into any decision. We both knew that
eighty (yes…$80) dollars a week in gas is too much no matter how badly we like
the vehicle – and so together – we made a decision…and we stuck to it!
We will probably buy another Jeep but like they say…”you
never forget your first” and Ian and I will never forget our first Jeep that we
had together!
No comments:
Post a Comment