Jeepers

Our go-to pet sitter, a recent college graduate, lives in a one-car household with her parents and 20-year-old brother. She's reliable, though, and when we go out of town, there's always a car left behind, so we lend her the second vehicle when she's on the job. 

That used to be a Honda HRV, a basic little subcompact crossover SUV, which was similar to her folks' C-RV, and which she liked very much. Recently, though, our second car became a Jeep Wrangler, and when we communicated the good news, she was clearly a bit daunted, as was her mother. "She keeps asking me how a Jeep handles and whether it's different from a car," confided a former colleague about conversations with the mom.

"Can I come over and test drive the Jeep?" our pet-sitter texted earlier this week. "Just to see how it is?"

"Sure," I replied, "but we're flying on this trip, so you can have a choice of either the Jeep or the Subaru."

"Oh, then I pick the Subaru, lol," she answered.

"The Jeep is really fun," I assured her, but she stood firm, and this evening came by to pick up the keys and the car.

As Heidi walked her out, they ran into our downstairs neighbor (who also happens to be a Jeep driver) and his dog. After a quick chat, the pet-sitter excused herself and headed home.

A minute later, the neighbor turned to Heidi, wide-eyed. "Wait!" he said. "She's taking your car!"

"I know," Heidi laughed. "But it's not the Jeep!"

He nodded, satisfied that the situation wasn't as dire as it could have been.