My Daughter Is Going To Trucking School

I'm very proud of her!!  Truth be told, she's a bit too much like me, in that she likes to do a job and doesn't like to be micromanaged.  We are of the "give me the damn job, then get out of the way" ilk.  Always we've been this way. 

So, while I've been driving a truck, for quite a while, she's been casting about, trying to find a good way to make a living but not having to sit behind a desk.  I kept telling her about trucking.  Well, finally, late last year, she got around to asking me for more info.  I happily told her. 

Now, she's on her way to school and within a couple of months, she'll be on her own, in her 'own' (read: company) truck and making a living. 

I have given her all off the downsides I could think of.  She has had my phone calls when I called her, on the verge of tears, about something that wasn't going right, so she knows there will be that in her future.  We've talked of DOT regs and the pain in the ass (PITA's for short) people who work at weigh stations.  About dispatchers who will push her to drive illegally and then try to blame her when something goes wrong.  About looking after herself FIRST.  She needs the CDL for her future and without it, a lot of money goes down the drain, so, it behooves her to take care of herself first and foremost. 

She has traveled extensively on her own and isn't afraid of the unknown.  Sometimes to her detriment.  I think she gets that from me....  Anyway...we both have a wanderlust about what is over the horizon.  Trucking has done great things for me.  Trucking has done horrible things to me.  Quite a bit of it was my bad judgement.  She's been warned of sex traffickers, drugs (she's light years ahead of me on that stuff), shrinking logs, etc., etc..

I've told her if she has a bad gut feeling about something, don't do it.  Work around it if needs be.  The load must get to whereever but no need to put herself in mortal danger.  Park in safe parking, on/off ramps won't do!   She knows self defense and can kick ass.  She knows to run her passenger seat seatbelt through the door handle and secure it.  No one can open the door from the outside. 

Too much to post all we've talked of, but, I'm proud of her for taking the step.  The one thing I can think of the new regs and scrutinazation (sp??) of trucking, maybe trucking will get safer, and, as a mother, I won't worry so much about her. 

So, to any newbie out there reading this, if you need a decent job, you will start at the bottom but there is plenty of room to go up.  Trucking, for me, has been for the most part, very good for me.  I'm glad I could pass this on to my daughter. 

Drive safely!!