Leaving the kids at home

[DonnaB201]

My husband has been a professional driver for 35 years. We are 56 years old and have been married for 30 years. I've worked as a secretary at a church for 15 years. We have three children. Our oldest son moved out this past year. Our daughter is 22 years old and our youngest son is a senior in high school.

Even with both of us working full time we have been just scraping by. There never seems to be enough to pay the bills and the debts which have built up over the years. And the house needs a lot of work and we can't afford to do the maintenance needed.

A couple weeks ago, at a prayer meeting, I asked for prayers for my relationship with my husband. Our relationship works best when we are working together toward the same goals, and the struggles of making ends meet has been putting pressure on the relationship. I didn't tell my husband about the prayers. Then out of the blue he half-jokingly suggested that if I got my CDL and went on the road with him, all our problems could be solved. I couldn't believe it! Something in me went click and I told him about the prayers. It was almost spooky! How much closer can we get than being a truck driving team?

I haven't been able to think about anything else since. We're looking into a tech school in the area that teaches Class A driving. We've been looking at buying our own truck. We want to be owner/operators as well as a team. I've been thinking about how and when to tell the church I'll need to train someone new. It may be almost a year before we get on the road, but we're really excited about the possibilities. The only thing we're worried about is leaving the house for weeks at a time in the hands of a 22 year old and a 19 year old.

Anyone have any experience in leaving their young adult children at home alone?

[Uturn2001]

You are going to have to evaluate the maturity level of both and make a decision. I know 15 year olds I would sooner entrust everything I have than some 30 year olds I know.

If I may offer a few suggestion.

Wait until after your oldest is out of school. I do not know the laws in your state, but in some states if a child is living at home, still in high school, and is under 21 they are considered a minor and if left alone for long periods of time it can be considered neglect on a legal front. (Unless you want to give your oldest guardianship).

Wait on buying a truck until two things happen. First your financial situation stabilizes and improves and second until you both know that living and working together in a walk in closet suits you.

Fundamentaly there is nothing wrong with your plan, just be sure to set yourselves up for the best chance of success instead of stacking the deck for failure.

[DonnaB201]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'll check about the age of my youngest, but he will be at least 19 before we get on the road.

About waiting to buy a truck... we're thinking that the financial situation won't get much better until we do. My husband has tried NE and Canada regional driving for a company and not made enough to help our financial situation. We're really thinking that being an owner/operator team is the way to go.

We're really sure we can handle being on the road. And maybe in today's world, communcation technology is so good that we won't feel so distanced from the kids at home.