My Life As a Trucker's Wife

by Sally Hall
(Dallas, TX, USA)

I have been married for 9 1/2 years to my wonderful over the road trucker. Of those 9 1/2 years my husband has been over the road for 6 years. I get to see my husband on the average about 2 -3 days a month and about a week for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Life as a trucker's wife can be very lonely if you let it be. You have to be the one to tow the line at home, be mother and father to your children, pay the bills, go to work (if you have a job), etc.

By the time he comes home I am ready to go out and do things with him and he wants to just be home. This made me even more frustrated and I felt unneeded, unwanted, and taken for granted.

I never really considered how he was feeling until we had a huge fight and both blurted out all our frustrations. He made me realize how much I was taking HIM for granted.

I get to be HOME with the kids while he sits ALONE in a truck all day and night. He has none of our children with him to give him a sweet goodnight hug and kiss. He wakes up, drives, and goes to bed totally alone.

This made me feel completely selfish and also made me feel that I had totally let him down as a wife and friend. I never thought about how lonely his days were until I went on a trip to see my step-daughter one time (12 hours).

After this trip and talking to him we decided to make some changes and promises to each other to remind each of us how important we both were to each other.

It took us a few months to get in the grove of our promises, but these little changes have made us so much stronger. I hope some of the things we have started doing help another couple be stronger.

The first thing he does when he wakes up is get a cup of coffee and call me. We talk about our plans for the day. This makes both of us feel like we are together. It is wonderful to hear his sleepy voice in the morning.

Throughout the day I call him even if it is only to talk for a minute or two. He told me this makes him feel like he is a part of my day and i feel the same. We talk about bills, his day, the kids, the dogs, basically everything that is going on.

The last thing I do before I go to bed is call him and tell him goodnight as well as tell him how much I love him and appreciate all he is doing for me and the kids. I (we) never go to bed without calling the other. It is like our goodnight kiss to each other.

These small changes have made our marriage 10 times stronger than it ever was. I think I fell in love with him all over again. We get really excited about when he gets to come home and I swear it feels like a honeymoon every time he is home!