So I decided to comprise a list of tips for new trucker-wives and how to handle the transition easier. These tips can also be useful if your significant other has any job away from home...not just trucking. I will post 1 tip a week until I have gone over all 10 tips! So keep checking back each week!
Here goes....the first tip in this series is...
Develop a Support System
The Free Dictionary describes a support system as "a network of facilities and people who interact and remain in informal communication for mutual assistance; a network that enables you to live in a certain style"
I can not think of anything more important than your own personal support system when living the lifestyle as a single wife. Personally, I can guarantee that this lifestyle would not be working for my family if it were not for those willing to help us when needed. I have wonderful parents and a sister, who, with no questions asked, are willing to jump in their car in the middle of the night if I asked them to. Not to mention they treat my son like he is their own.
The week my husband was supposed to get his own truck and start driving on his own, I wound up in the hospital. I was 12 weeks pregnant and woke up one morning coughing up blood. After a trip to the ER I found out I had a life threatening condition, multiple pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) in both lungs. I had a three night stay in the hospital and was off work on medical leave for 2 months.
I could hardly make it through the day. I spent most of my time on the couch and had to take daily naps because my energy was so depleted due to low oxygen levels and my heart having to work extra hard to make up for it. I could not even go grocery shopping without having to sit down. I also had numerous doctors appointments as a result, all while my husband had to be on the road because he started a new job and could not take any time off.
What happened was out of every body's control and completely unexpected. My mom and sister stepped in without being asked and helped me take care of my toddler, made sure I was eating right, took me to my doctor's appointments and even cleaned my house. Also, I am lucky enough that my husband's family lives close to us and are just as supportive. I really do not know what I would have done without these people in my life.
No matter how together you think you got it, there will come a time when you need your car jumped, you need plowed out of your driveway, or need somebody to take care of your child when he is sick while you are working. You can try your hardest, and probably do quite well for yourself, but eventually something is going to come up and you are going to wish you had somebody to rely on.
If you do not have family or friends near-by, try to make friends with your neighbors, or co-workers so you would feel comfortable asking them to help you with small tasks that you just can not do yourself. If you have reliable people in your life, when bad luck happens, its not really a catastrophe but just a quick call to a friend!
Who makes up your support system? Let us know with a quick comment and check back next week for Tip #2!
Anytime. Day or Night. You know that!!
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