The Trucker's Spouse: The Unsung Hero
by PD McCloud
It is said that behind every great man is a greater woman but in these times of political correctness that has to be changed to behind every great trucker is a greater spouse. Now that all the politically correct crap is out of the way let's get to it, besides, rarely will you find a trucker who cares about political correctness. They'd rather speak the plain truth, and in english. And, since about 95% of the truckers out there are males, and of those who are married, are married to women, let's speak without the gender-neutral B.S. getting in the way.
Driving a truck, especially OTR, and being married at the same time is hard for most. Being away from home for weeks at time leaves little option but to keep communicating with one's wife by phone, or video chat. Most do it by phone. Drivers get lonely, and so do their wives' at home. The newer wives don't understand why their man has to be gone for so long and the driver doesn't understand the loneliness and pressures his wife feels at home alone.
The stay at home wife takes care of not only the home, but the bills too. If there are children the wife deals with them too, compounding the pressure she is under. There's no one there to help her. She's on her own. She tries to talk with her driver/husband about some issues, but he doesn't quite understand what she's going through and won't be home for 2 more weeks to help out. When he gets home it's usually for only a couple of days, at best, he's tired, usually a bit irritable, but glad to be home to his wife and family.
There are a whole lot of marriages that fail with the root cause being the lengthy separation between the two. However, there are also a lot of marriages that not only survive, but grow deeper and more meaningful. Sure the driver may be earning a good income, making sure there's money to pay the bills and keep food in the house. But, it's the wife who shines in these successful marriages. She's the one who makes sure the children are taken care of, the bills are paid on time and does so with the determination to support her man in ways he often don't see or recognize.
The driver? He goes about his daily routine of picking up, dropping off and driving to the next destination. Part of that routine is deciding where to eat, what to eat and where he'll stop to sleep during his required 10 hr. break. Not a lot of change in his daily routine aside from worrying that his wife may need him, or feeling guilty about leaving her home alone to deal with the myriad of problems that might arise there. It's hard on him too.
Then, there are wives like mine who ride on the truck with their driver/husband. I can't speak as to other drivers and their ride-along wives, but I can about mine, and she's a true gem!
There's no children at home anymore, so my wife and I are together 24/7, going on three and a half years now, in the truck. One would think this would be a problem, cramped up in a little bit of space compared to being in our home together where there's room to move around. I was a trucker when I met her, and she joined me on the truck with literally no knowledge about what a truckers life was like. She took to it like a fish takes to water. There was a little bit there where she wasn't sure what to do and when to do it, but she's one heck of a gal. She takes care of me just the same as she does at home. In a matter of speaking, she's the chief cook, cleaner and coffee cup washer. She's a rock for me to lean on when the driving gets stressful. She keeps me focused and calm when a shipper, receiver or even another driver does something that some driver's would go ballistic over.
So, my hat is off in reverence of you wives who keep the ship on an even keel. It's a job that many can't handle, but for those of you who can, and do, I salute each and every one of you. Without you in a truckers life, he'd still be one of the lonely guys out there missing out on the joys of a happy relationship and/or marriage.
When no one else gives a rats ass about a trucker, the trucker's spouse does and she shows it each day and every day!
Thank you wives, for being the true hero in our lives!
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