Home Time

Today's Thoughts 12/1/11 Home TIme

What exactly is that? Home time that is. It's been so long since I've had more than just a day or two at a time that I think I've plum forgot just what it is like to have the time to do more than just a small quick project around the house. My usual average time at the house is about a day and a half. Thirty six hours to come in, wash my clothes, fix the truck, spend time with the family and fix the major item around the house that broke while I was gone; and leave again on another two to three week turn. Such is the life of a traveling man. This time is different though. While my truck is in the expert care of my favorite mechanic Russell over in Alabama, I have about a week and a half to do, well, nothing if that’s what I want to do.

Anyone that knows me knows that nothing is the last thing that is going to happen. I have to be doing something or the something I'm going to be doing is going nuts. So I have years of backed logged work that needs to be done around the house to keep me busy. The cool thing about that is I have to save every dollar for the engine rebuild so there is not a dime to spend on the honey do's until the truck is done and I'm off and running again. That of course means that I have to figure out how to make all that needs to happen around the house happen without spending any cash to make it happen. I love a good challenge though and I figure that I can do this. I have lots of things stored and piled around to work with.

Today I finally got around to cutting up that tree that fell on my shed out in the back yard last winter. I have an electric chain saw so that was easy enough. Then came stacking the wood and out came the leaf blower and we cleaned the yard. I love doing chores with my wife, working as a team, wearing ourselves out and then crashing together totally worn out for an afternoon nap. I'm finding though that years of sitting behind that wheel has me a little soft when it comes to doing this hard labor stuff. Thinking I might just be a little too old, fat and lazy for tree cutting anymore, and for that fact, yard work.

Tomorrow I have planned an old broken mirror that has been sitting in a trash can waiting for proper safe disposal. No way do I want my family taken a chance on something like that while I'm out on the road. Then on to a few minor sheet rock repairs and then finally getting around to finishing that trim that needs painting in the hall way. I guess it's been about a year ago that we painted the walls and the trim has been sitting there waiting for me to find the time to finish it off. That’s the thing about being a truck driver running over the road. There is never a shortage of things that need your attention and there is never enough time to attend to those things. That truck and that load always come first. That’s if you like eating that is.

Anyway it does feel good to be out from behind that wheel for a while. But the big road is just beyond the trees on the other side of the railroad tracks. I can hear the trucks running up and down that highway and it's calling me. That's where I belong and I know it. That’s who I am. I think that if I was to be here for too long I would really start to miss running that open highway. Going places and seeing things that most people only dream of. But at last, my honey do list does need a little attention every now and then and so does my family. Finding a decent balance between the two is always a welcome discovery.

So its family this week and I have every intention of getting the most out of this time spent at home. I'll be spending lots of time with the wife and kid. Spending Sunday mornings at the church I've come to enjoy being a part of and most of most of all of course just feeling like a normal person with a normal home and normal life for a change. I'm not going to rush these things because I know that before too long, it will be years before I can enjoy them for any length of time at once again. Life in a big truck I guess. You have to love it and it has to be in your blood or you will never make it as a truck driver. It's a good thing I love what I do. That’s the only way I'm able to do it.

Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
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