Sunday Favorites

What a wonderful weekend this has been thus far.  I hope that everyone that is reading this is having a beautiful one as well.  Even though it's storming here tonight I still love it.  I love a good thunderstorm.

Welcome once again to Sunday Favorites hosted by the sweet Chari @ Happy To Design.  As I've said before I just love Chari doing this for everyone on Sundays.  It gives us all a chance to go back in time and read a post from the past.  Remember what we might have been doing, or even how we are feeling.  It also gives us a day "off" so to speak.  This allows us more time to spend with families, church and whatever else we might like to do with our Sunday.  This week I am sharing a post that was originally posted on July 28, 2008.  It's a small glimpse into life as a Trucker and being a Trucker's wife.  I hope you enjoy this post.  Afterwards be sure and head over to Happy To Design and check out all the other wonderful posts.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Small Glimpse Into Trucking

Before my husband became a trucker I quite honestly never gave much thought about what life as a trucker was or might be like. I never realized how much trucker's do for us. How much stress when driving they have. How almost everything we buy comes from a trucker and his deliveries. But I was under the impression that trucker's were an uneducated, nasty, perverted bunch of people. I guess the reason I had always thought this is because so often television and news stories always portray them this way. For the most part, nothing could or can be further from the truth. Trucker's are a kind group, who love being out on the open road, who want nothing but the best for their families and give up so much to provide this for them. Most trucker's a highly educated as well. Trucker's and their families are not given enough credit for the life they lead. They make sacrifices for not only themselves, but so we can be able to have all we have as well. Yes, they chose this career and I'm not saying they should be put up on a pedestal but they should be given respect for what they do and what they go through.

After taking many road trips with Trucker myself I have learned that it is a very stressful job simply because of other driver's (four wheelers) on the road. These semi's cannot and will not stop on a dime. They are carrying on average 70,000# of weight. Often times more. They have numerous blind spots on the truck in which they cannot see you around them. No matter how many mirrors are attached they still have a couple blind spots.

Trucking is a hard job and as said it's also very stressful on the driver's and their families. Imagine if your husband were gone for a month or more at a time and only home about four days a month? The rest of the time you only talk by phone or email. Trucker's wives are a special type of person. They must be secure in themselves, enjoy time alone, enjoy for the most part making most of the decisions, and have to have a special bond with their trucker's. They also have to be non jealous of their time apart. They are a very trusting bunch of women. If they are not completely secure in their relationship it is never going to work.

One of the happiest days of my life was when Trucker found a local job driving. After almost a year of being gone for a month at a time he would now be home most nights and every weekend. No more crying myself to sleep when the loneliness became to much for me. No more having to "stay strong" so he wouldn't feel terrible about being gone. Wives bottle up so much to be strong for their trucker's when out on the road. They have enough stress as it is without the added stress of wives whining and crying about being lonely.

The first year Trucker drove truck the only things he had on board were his cell phone, cb radio, sirius radio and that was it. He had no refrigerator (he used an ice chest), no laptop, no tv or dvd player. He had the bare necessities. He read for his entertainment, and called home several times a day. Also often he did look pretty grubby and unwashed. Reason being it costs $10.00 in truck stops to take a shower. Imagine having to pay this much for a shower and how that adds up very quickly. Now trucker has a refrigerator, tv, dvd player, and hot plate. He still calls home several times a day.
Gee, it wasn't my plan to start this post about the downsides of trucking. It was my intention to actually give you a glimpse into what the life on the road is like. It's not all bad and it is very fulfilling as well. The scenery is awesome, the views spectacular, the stories often hilarious. And many times your relationship grows stronger. Below are a few pictures from our last road trip and a short video of what the inside of the truck looks like. I hope you enjoy. Please ignore my feet on the dashboard (boy do I need a pedi) and ignore the bug guts as well.

Trucker relieving some stress here.Our reflection in the truck in front of us.
The small box (rectangular) shape behind trucker is the refrigerator. It holds barely anything but it gets cold. The bottom bunk (you will see) makes out into a booth and table. you can control the air and radio from the beds as well as the front of the cab.