The One I really do this for.....

Some of my favorite pictures of my mom, Helen Watson.

Once upon a time, I was a young girl who loved spending her time riding horses, playing with my cousins, running around the countryside where my parents purchased 5 acres from my grandparents, built a nice home and raised 2 girls (My oldest sister had graduated high school before the nice house, which was an extended family project, was finished). We had horses, a pony, dogs, rabbits, tractors, mowers, trucks and cars. That probably isn't a complete list, but that would take AGES! I was a country girl, and my mother recognized that before I even knew it made any difference. I'll never forget the time Nick & I purchased our Big Red Truck, and Mom said, "You finally got your truck!" I realized then, at the age of 44, that she was right, I had always wanted a truck. 

My mother always seemed to understand her daughters, although she didn't always use that understanding to get along with us any better. Even when I was sure I was disappointing her again, she would always do whatever she could to help me out. Again. 

When I told her about my new passion to drive a big truck with an apartment attached to it, her big concern was whether Nick would agree to it. My mother was a product of her generation, a wife is part of a couple, and should do his bidding as long as he did his part and took care of her and the family. Nick was always very diligent in the taking care of the family, so Mom encouraged me to do my part. We used to laugh, leaving their house, because if Nick left the house before me, and I would be talking to Mom & Dad for awhile longer, she grew concerned that he would get mad at having to wait for me. Nick always assured me he didn't mind waiting.

Nick's joining me on the road was always a sticking point for me. If he wouldn't go with me, I would go to truck driving school, get my Class-A CDL, and drive big trucks until I couldn't do it anymore, just so I could say I had been SOMEWHERE. Fortunately, Nick decided he had given enough of his soul to the production industry, was willing to get his Class-B CDL, and join me. My mother was SO relieved.

The last time we discussed my trucker life before her mind started tormenting her, she asked me for one thing. "You're going to run off and leave me. Will you call me everyday to let me know you're ok and where you are?" I told her we weren't even close to getting started yet, but YES, I would ABSOLUTELY call her everyday to let her know what was going on with us.

That was before Daddy died, Memorial Day Weekend, 2021. We didn't get into our truck until June 22, 2022. Mom was gone by then, she had died in January. So I decided to put the record of my adventures here, in my little blog. I like to think mom is on her computer in heaven, able to keep tabs on all of us through her Facebook page, and she would absolutely read my blog. Then tell me I didn't need to share this or that publicly, or that I could've picked a picture that flattered a little more. She was usually encouraging about my writing. Once upon a time I wrote about my dad's accident on his Cushman scooter that almost killed him. She kept that paper, I got an A on it in my college English class.

When Nick is in the sleeper, and I am going through a part of the countryside that strikes me as gorgeous in its green lushness, or barren browns, or when the sun makes fabulous shadows with the landscape or clouds, I send a little prayer heavenward, letting my mom know where we are and what we are seeing.

I love you, Mom.

Mom and her girls, I'm the baby.

There's no place like home....

 

Home sweet home?  (Love's, Hampshire, IL) 

We've been driving around in our dorm room on wheels for 3 months now. We've been to 26 states (we added Kansas yesterday), we've gradually added some Petro and Pilot truck stops to our list of hangouts, and we now consider finding an RV dump that is on our route as a total coup! 

Yesterday was the first time either of the dogs got hurt while we were out walking. We were wandering the sandy scrub around the truck stop in El Paso, when Gem slowed up and started limping. We went back to the curb (I wasn't sitting in the dirt with the bugs, snakes and scorpions!) and I checked the paw she was favoring, and found a huge grass burr and it was HARD. It poked my fingers a few times while I was getting it out! So I apologized profusely, and we limited our potty walks to the rocky verge after that. 

We learn a little bit more with every load we take. Sometimes we learn basic stuff, like when you have a heavy load and it's centered over the wheels, the truck rides really smooth. Sometimes we learn that we really like an area or maybe not so much. Sometimes it's just a realization that we've been in an area enough that we are actually familiar with it. We are figuring out the lifestyle, but trying to figure out the processes that create our paycheck is seriously complicated New Math! (My math skills are strictly basic math, and Nick did ok with geometry on the x and y axes.)

So we are settling back into truck life. Nick over-packed on t-shirts. I grabbed brand new bags of the dogs' hip & joint meds, and lost them in a space that has only 7 cabinet doors. After years of complaining that he never talks to me in the car, Nick made multiple conscious attempts to start conversations. We haven't changed a lot, still making the same type of mistakes, but he's willing to try to fix something that I have told him bothers me.

He loves me! He REALLY loves me! 

 

On the road again....

 

Wow, it has been so long since I've been on here! When I started this, I planned to be steady and consistent. Whoops. Best laid plans and all that...  Since June 22nd, we have driven through 25 of the 50 states! HALF THE COUNTRY!!! We're learning how to actually RUN in a truck instead of just driving a vehicle. To do that, you get really worn out, so playing on a computer, trying to make sense of the random thoughts and ramblings in my head can be difficult. 

One thing I bank on, every day, is this guy in the picture. Back when we were younger than any of our children are now, he wanted to take me to lunch. And today, we got lunch in Sikeston, Missouri, and in the picture, we're taking it back to the privacy of our sleeper, so we can relax with our pups. It amazes me that after 37 years together, he is willing to live in such close quarters with me, and put up with my moods. (Especially after I call him on his!) I think we both have discovered that somewhere in the last 25-30 years, we have spouted new parts to our personalities, some good and some not so good. For some reason, this guy, who has always been the best person I know, and the only person I trust, hasn't made me stop the truck so he can get out. At the end of every day, THAT is something for which I'm TRULY thankful.

We are working on our communication skills. It used to drive me nuts, in the car, he didn't have anything he wanted to talk about until I had something else to do. Now, we have so many things that require both of us, it is imperative that we can speak to each other professionally and personally without misunderstanding. 

The main reason we have been mia (missing in action) for so long, is perfectly personal: WE GOT A NEW GRANDSON!! Dale Stapp is simply wonderful! He is the spitting image of his father, our youngest son, Tom. I'm sure his mother's influence will be more obvious as he becomes more peopley, but for now he's just adorable as he is. 

Dale and his Grammy.