It’s All About Support

Friendships and marriage and family are all about support – having someone’s back and knowing that they have yours. You may not be interested in what a person wants to share with you, but if that person truly means something to you, you should at least support them by listening and standing by their side (literally and figuratively).

My husband is an over-the-road trucker. He loves his job. Yes, he is usually gone for a block of time: his goal is usually 10 days out and 4 days home. This seems a bit easier to accomplish since he has gone from company driver to owner-operator leased on to a company.

Although this is not his shirt, it sums up his position about what he does.

Now, since I am a retired teacher, you’d think that I would be excited to ride with him at times, right? Wrong. I am not the type of person who sits well in the passenger seat: I fidget, I get anxious when I see what traffic is doing, I make back seat driver comments and sounds, I reach for the imaginary brake pedal. Yup, I panic him when I ride.

Instead, I have his back at home: I keep the trucking books, I run the household and get done what needs to get done, I watch after the dogs and cat, and I mow the yard or shovel the drive if needed before he gets home.

This weekend, in addition to having his back at home, I had the opportunity to go with him to the Iowa 80 Truck Stop Truckers’ Jamboree. Much of the information presented by the vendors and companies represented was over my head. What I did enjoy were all the vintage trucks on display outside. When we went back a second day, we went through the museum – trucks back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It’s a wonder that anyone would work as a trucker in those days.