A lot of kids grow up with their parents as nurses, teachers, or in retail. Although in today's generation is hard to define what a "normal" job is, I believe that my mother's profession could be considered not normal — my mother is a truck driver.
When you think of a woman that is 5'2 from small-town Alabama, you likely would not think of her operating a vehicle carrying 50,000 pounds of truck that stretches across 70 feet of asphalt. However, that is my mother, tried and true. There are 9 lessons I have learned being my mother's son.
1. You get a lot of laughs.
My friends who have seen my mother as I have grown up never assumed that she would become the truck driver that she is today. So, when I go to meet up with my friends, old or new, they all laugh at me when I tell them that my mom drives around 5,000 miles per week to make a living.
2. People still think it's 1950.
What I mean is... people don't think a woman can work in an industry that is predominantly male populated. I hear lines like "that little bitty thing in that big ole' truck?" and "that can't be safe for her." I shake my head at these people, and it's opened up my eyes to the women out there doing what used to be considered a "man's job."
3. Truck drivers are people, too.
Contrary to popular belief, not all truck drivers are overweight and creepy old men with scraggly beards and CB radios. Most of the people my mother talk about meeting at trucks stops are your common, everyday people with families and ambitions. They aren't some different breed of people inhabiting a mysterious realm of earth.
4. Living by yourself is awesome!
Going through my last few years of high school, I lived by myself at home because my mother stayed on the road all through the week. Getting that experience of independence and responsibility was exactly what I needed before moving to college. I always had my friends over and it made the end of high school a stress-free experience.
5. Living by yourself sucks.
I quickly learned that living alone has many downfalls that are hard to get acclimated to at first. Buying groceries, cleaning the house, and all the extra responsibilities gave a new meaning to #adulting. Also, I had this irrational fear that something would happen to me in the house and nobody would be there to help, so I was constantly paranoid. Plus, houses tend to get a lot creepier and noisier at night when you are sleeping alone!
6. A lot of hard work goes unnoticed...
... particularly, truck drivers' work. These are people that spend days and weeks away from their homes and families to ensure the delivery of the products that help our economy thrive. Were it not for truck drivers spending time away from their families, we wouldn't enjoy many of the luxuries and conveniences that we have.
Trains can only hit major areas and airplanes can't carry 50,000-pound loads: we would starve without truck drivers. All of this goes to say that they are the most underappreciated workers in the United States who get a bad reputation for nothing.
7. All drivers everywhere are stupid.
My favorite thing to hear when my mom returns from a trip is how bad ordinary commuters are at driving; my mom calls cars 4-wheelers jokingly. Every driver on the road has been guilty of cussing at a big rig for being in the way, when in actuality, we are likely following too closely or merging dangerously close. From the stories my mom has told me, we are the dangerous drivers, not the people in the big rig.
8. Appreciate your family time.
Most students enjoy breaks from school or college because they get to go back home and spend time with their families. The truth is, with a truck driving parent, you barely get to see because they only get a limited time off of work every few days. I don't resent my mom for choosing the hauling industry, but it makes me value what little bit of time I get to spend with her.
9. You are someone's everything.
This can have several connotations, but obviously, this is in a mother-to-son way. To have a mom that spends so much time away from home and an ordinary life to make financial ends meet speaks a lot to her character and the character of all the other truck drivers out there. So many down to earth people work jobs like this to support their families.
You have to mean everything to someone for them to make that kind of sacrifice, so be thankful.
