Worried about family...

[anothermic]

Hey guys, I'm in my second week of training, soon i'll be off to TMC for my orientation, then on the road,..

I know i'll be fine with being on the road, as i've always enjoyed long trips, and enjoy being by myself 80% of the time, my Grandpa was a professional truck driver for 40 years, so i've been around them a bit, and I know to an extent what I should expect..

My problem is that I have a 7 month old daughter and i'm afraid that my little girl is going to grow up without her daddy :sad:

How does everyone else cope with this? am I over exaggerating?

For the people here with trucker parent(s) how did you take it? did you resent your parent(s)? do you have relationship problems now that are a result of them not being around?

I just know that if I go out for my 8 week OTR training, and come back and she doesn't Give me a big smile when i get home i'll be heartbroken :sad:

[One]

Well...You chose the career and the company....reality is that you will be gone weeks on end and wont be able to plan on being home on her birthday, etc. If you want to be an active part of the family, choose a company thatll have you home weekends or every night- not OTR.
Sorry to be so blunt, but thats reality.

[Twilight Flyer]

It's a job. You can get a job anywhere.

You have a wife and an 7-month old. Those, you don't get just anywhere.

I'll go with One on this one. If you are already questioning it, then you better be considering something besides OTR.

[TOWSTRAP]

Get through your training, serve your tuition time, and go LTL. There will always be trucks but there will not always be moms and babies, they'll only take so much. :wink:

[downriversgirl]

FIRST OF ALL DON'T WORRY SHE IS GOING TO GIVE HER DAAY THE BIGGEST SMILE HE'S EVER SEEN!
Are u in Burlington IA school? My boyfriend is there now starting his 2nd wk and will be going to TMC as well. He has three children they are older then your daughter. He has different worries... that they will get in trouble, start failing school. His daughter is 13th going on 30th. So you see the worry never ends. I agree with One---really think about it. Try to get home on the weekends---Doesn't TMC get you home on the weekend? I wish I had more advise but I am new at this. By the way How's your wife?
Hang-in there! Best of Luck

[BanditsCousin]

MY dad was a driver all of my life, and its just something you get used to. its hard on both sides, but thats life.

Watch out though, your kid might go to college and become a trucker! 8) 8)

[Uturn2001]

When you do OTR/regional you have to work at maintaining and growing your relationships back home. If you do not then they will wither away.

For the spouse, trust and communication are probably the two biggest aspects of this. You need to trust your spouse is able to take care of the home front when you are away and do not critize because they do something in a way totally different than how you would do it. Also you need to develop good communication skills. Not only do you need to talk you need to really listen.

For the kids, stay in their lives. Talk to them on the phone, even if they are not old enough to talk back. For older kids send them the occasional post card or letter. Get a map and some stickers or push pins so they can keep track of the places you visit. When at home make the time you spend with them full of quality.

The best way with kids is to spend quality and quantity time with them, but out of the two, IMHO, the more important is the quality. There are many kids who see their parents every day, but the time they spend with Mommy and/or Daddy is severly lacking.

[BanditsCousin]

My dad would send a postcard every 2-3 days as well. That was pretty cool, looking back on it now.