Hubbie is newbie OTR driver

by Carol
(Logan, OH)

My husband is in his first week of OTR driving. We've been married 21 years and have two daughters, one a sophomore in college and the other a freshman in high school.

My husband was a finish carpenter for over 20 years, but after several months of no work in that field, and then several months as a temporary, something had to give.

He decided to get his CDL and give driving a try. It wasn't an easy decision, but there are NO jobs out there. It seemed every want ad we looked at was for truckers.

He's 5 days into his first week and it's mostly been okay. I know he was nervous to be completely on his own with no trainer the first few days, but he sounds better on the phone each day.

I know it's hard for him to be so far from home for so long, but we both know this just might be the job that can give us a future again. Things have been really grim over the least year and a half and this just might be our last hope.

He's 44 years old and basically starting his career all over again. I can't even imagine how hard that would be. On the days I get lonely or frustrated because I need his help with something and he's not here, I remember how we agreed this was best for our family and we'd all have to sacrifice to make things work.

I'm so tired of not having enough money to pay all the bills and we are both hoping that this pulls us out the financial pit we are in right now.

I'm lucky in some respects... him being gone is tough, but I'm kind of used to it. When he worked carpentry, he would often work 7 days a week and most everything else always fell to me to take care of.

I do miss him, but we both know this is kind of our last chance for a decent future, so we have to do what we have to do to make it work for our family. He knows I'm here for him and that I'll whatever it takes to make this work.