May 20, 2004

As I’m going through my daily tasks here at work, I let my mind wander for just a moment. For some reason, I recalled my high school years.

There was a teacher in my school that taught special education. Outside of her regular duties, she also assisted with the drama club and a social studies course, “Ethics Class”. So I got to know her fairly well. Her name was (and probably still is) Karen O’Brien. She was present when I came out to myself, at the age of 16 (though I had known since I was six or seven) during one particularly emotional Ethics Class, but that’s another story for another time.

I always admired Karen for one reason – she had an unstoppable zest for life. In the one yearbook, the teachers were polled for various reasons – interests, dislikes, etc. These were printed under their picture.

Karen wrote this for her interest:

Interests: People – I find them fascinating. I haven’t found one yet that didn’t impress me.

What a wonderful thought. I’m going to make it a point to remember that more often.

I discovered something about being materialistic today. There much more joy in giving than buying.

Ever since I met Earl back in late 1995, he’s mentioned from time to time that he wanted a Jeep. Nothing fancy like a Grand Cherokee or a Liberty or anything like that. No, he wanted a basic, “man’s jeep”… a 5-speed Wrangler with a soft top.

Tonight, it happened.

After work, we drove up to the Jeep dealer to pick up his 2004, black, five-speed, six-cylinder, soft-topped Jeep Wrangler X. It’s all black with a gray cloth interior. It’s your basic Jeep – no power windows or locks, no air conditioning, just a plain ol’ Jeep. He hadn’t seen it before tonight, he bargained with the dealer over the phone and bought it sight unseen.

It’s beautiful. But more importantly, I wish I had the words to describe the happiness I saw in Earl’s eyes tonight.

When we first met, he was driving a Mazda 626 that he promptly smashed up. He needed a car quick, so he bought a ’96 Hyundai Elantra. It was a quick purchase, out of necessity rather than pleasure. The Elantra was a great, functional car, and filled the need quite well for a long time. But it wasn’t really us.

When the Elantra ran it’s course, we took the opportunity to buy a new car… a 2001 Impala LS. The Impala was my dream car, and he basically let me pick it out for the family. He enjoys the Impala, but it isn’t really what he would have bought for himself. We still drive it today, and I’m still in love with it (despite the sizeable chunk of change we invested in repairs a couple of months ago).

So when he said he wanted a Jeep (again), I stepped aside and let him get what he wanted. Just between you and me, I’m glad we have a Jeep in the family too, but more importantly, I’m glad he took the opportunity to buy a toy for himself.

We’ve decided to cancel our plane reservations to Kansas for a vacation in June – we’re driving the Jeep instead.

It makes me so proud to scream…

My Boyfriend Drives A JEEP!

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Now I would never refer to Earl has my “boyfriend”… I haven’t done that since we shared a pop at the malt shop. It’s just fun to act young. 🙂