Most of the conversation among truckers is alimony,2nd wife,step children,child support

That may be due to the ones who are OTR and in a successful marriage are not sitting at the counter in the truck stop whining. They are the ones on the phone talking to their loved ones back home.

10/4

I got my cdl the day before we got married 13yrs ago. Has it been easy? Hell no. I started local then went regional then local/regional then longhaul then to the Colorado oil fields now I'm a johnny do it all on a roustabout crew in Sheridan WY, but mostly I run a dozer. The wife is much happier with this job home on the weekends and only 2hrs from the house during the week.

seems like I was off a bit in my 3 year estimate. Looks like things last somewhat longer.

Solo, Fred & Gman are to be commended. Are you guys OTR?

You name it, i got it! :D But, the truth is, i was not, (except few occasions) for the first couple years! :roll:

Most of the time it is not the profession! I think it has alot to do with being your mates friend, communication & give/take!

Been married current wife 15 years and married 12 years!

When you get off the road most your time should be devoted to your family!

I don't know, after 30 years behind the wheel I figure marriage probems for an OTR guy is pretty much the rule
Unless
He is sending home some serious $$$$$

I live in a wealthy area (that is getting wealthier every day)
Every Mon A.M. it is the land of "lost limousines" looking for houses to pick up executives to the airport.
These guys are gone all week because Fri the neighborhood is
loaded with limos again.
These guys are away all week but the wife is pushing a thousand dollar baby carriage and taking tennis lessons and getting fresh flowers delivered.
As long as they can drive their gold Lexus SUV........
And have a "nanny".........

But if you are away from home and you wife has to struggle with bills etc......
Puts a lot of stress on things
There are drivers who like to stay out to avoid the responsibility of being a husband/ parent
They use OTR as an escuse.
Wife has to be both Mother and Father to the kids
It gets old quick
Same old crap
"why can't you get a local job and help me out?"
"You knew OTR was in my blood when you married me.............."

My husband is not a driver. He works in television, talk about divorce rates. He is gone 12-14hr out of the day and has to work weekends, come playoff time forget it. Just coming from someone who is home, it is hard being left alone. I agree with everyone here that it takes a lot of good communication skills to make marriages like this work.

I have accepted the fact he won't be home and I need to take over a lot of the "man" things. I have to play a lot of different roles.
Examples:
I am the "handyman" in the house-
'Mommy/honey this is broken. Can you fix it?'
I am also the IT person
'Honey, the computer______(fill in the blank).'
I am the account.
I call the plumber, oilman, pestcontrol....when things need fixing. I draw the line at plumbing and electrical.

Somtimes I do feel like a single parent. But over the past 7 years, we have learned to talk to each other. I think to make things work in these situations, each person has to be willing to compromise and sometimes make sacrifices for each other. They have to learn to accept each others faults. And they have to know each's limitations. Luckily, for him, it takes a lot before I reach my breaking point.

Just out of idle curiosity mommee....why are you on a trucking forum? An interest in the industry that you and/or your husband have? Perhaps planning to drive in the future? Just wondering is all.... :wink: