Women in Trucking - A Woman Driver's Guide

Archives

--------------------------------------

Long time writer for Layover.com, Daren Baird, experienced fatal accident on December 10. She was driving her trailer in the rainy early morning on I-275 north of Woodland, Tennessee when she apparently lost control and smashed through the concrete barriers and down a steep embankment.

Daren was a consummate trucking professional who had her heart and head in the right places. She was a role model not just to female drivers, but to all big rig drivers. Her appearance on the Today show last spring revealed just what a pro she really was. She loved the job and was reluctant to cut back on driving when offered her recent role as teacher, instructing new drivers and sharing her wealth of experience over three decades. Any student coming out of her classes can count themselves lucky to have been taught by her. Daren's life ended doing what she loved and she probably would not have had it any other way. Trucking was better for having her, and now it is that much worse off without her.

 --------------------------------------

While it is easy for all of us to be thankful for the obvious blessings in our lives, we all have trouble with the things that are less obvious. Many of us went home for the holidays and came up against the old family clashes and renewed old family arguments that left us feeling anything but thankful.

Maybe if we changed our perspective we would feel better about it all. Instead of envying people that apparently have the perfect family that never argues or feels envy, think instead that the sibling who drives you crazy, who you never know if or when they will show up, is in your life to teach you patience and understanding. If they are still getting to you, the lesson hasn't been learned.

Do you have a sibling that "has it made" when you spend all your time wishing it had happened for you? Maybe the lesson there is that money doesn't buy the things in life that are really important: your children's health, your spouse's love, a home you enjoy, even a hunt for a bargain can bring it's own satisfaction.

Like me, do you have siblings who are not in good health? If this does not make you appreciate your own health and ability to work, what will? Mine would love to be able to get up and go to a job and bring home a paycheck. When I feel stiff and creaky when climbing down out of the truck I think of those who could never have gotten in. When I am working on a holiday I am thankful that I have a job, and remember those who don't and those who can't.

Do you have a parent that wasn't there for you who was perhaps an alcoholic, a drug user or just emotionally unavailable? If you have made it this far then you have survived and succeeded anyway. Along the way, I hope you have learned to love yourself and realized that you are not responsible for other peoples' problems.

The choice is always ours: to find the positive or the negative in what life brings us.
I have known those who find the negative in a positive situation. There are those who throw away winning tickets. They see themselves as a loser and nothing is going to change that view of themselves. You often hear someone say things like "I am never going to get over [blank]." You can fill in the blank with anything. Any and all of them can be tragic and life changing, but they are not life ending.

We get what we expect in life, expect the best, and learn the lessons so they won't have to be repeated. Remember too that sometimes prayers aren't always answered in the way we expect them to be, so be open to possibilities and enjoy the little things along the way. The beautiful sunsets, the moonlight on the water, the mountains, and the pastures dotted with horses or cattle and babies playing everywhere. It's not at the destination but the trip where we spend our lives. Enjoy it, live in the moment and be thankful you are there.

GIFTS GIVEN

I met a driver for Marten Transport who was buying company hats (nine at a time!). This was the second time I had seen him do this, so of course I had to ask if they were all Christmas gifts. "No," he said, "they are for the customers, the dock foremen, the people I deal with on a regular basis." "I really like the smile it puts on their faces, when they get it and when I come back."

That is a really nice thing he is doing, not just for his relationships with these people, but their attitude toward other Marten drivers, and truck drivers in general. Random acts of kindness mean the most. Not a bad idea for giving any time of the year.

I have for many years made muffins and taken them to work, and also give them to people I don't want to feel obligated to give anything back. Once, I pressure-washed a lot of my neighbors' homes when we were all getting ready for a neighborhood spit and polish! Many of my neighbors are on SSI and it felt good to help them-and I got to play in the water. When another neighbor went in the hospital, I was notified that her dog was left alone in her house, when I went in to take care of it I found her place full of trash and got her permission to clean it out! What a job that turned out to be! And yeah, that felt good too. She was just too sick to take care of herself. She later went into a nursing home when we let her family know what conditions she had been living in.

The gift of your time can be priceless.

Happy Holidays and Happy Every-days!