Keep Your Chin Up

On Easter Sunday, while sitting at a truck stop far away from our home and family, I found myself getting melancholy.

We have not been home for a month, we have not seen our granddaughter for several months, and the weather was cold and drizzly.  My planning did not go well as I had not thought ahead to what we might have for an Easter dinner if the truck stops restaurants closed.  Leftover frozen tuna casserole was not a great substitute. The day did not start with a smile as it was too easy to slump down into the doldrums.

When living in a small area and one person is still sleeping, there is not much one can do that will not wake up the sleeper.  Usually, the person awake sits in the cab of the truck with the sleeper curtains closed while the other rests.  Bob likes to watch movies on his iPad using a headset in the evenings, and in the mornings, while I wait for him to wake up, I work on my computer or cross-stitch.  As I sat in the cab of the truck with a blanket wrapped around me, watching the drizzle and feeling the cold, my mood went downhill quickly.  

It was time for me to give myself an attitude adjustment, and the best way to do that is to start thinking of things to be thankful for.  We have worked hard to get to where we are today from our humble beginnings.  When Bob and I got married at a young age, we were given zero chances to stay married more than a year (now married 41 years), zero chance to raise successful daughters, and following examples, we would live paycheck to paycheck.  As you might guess, when I look back on those beginnings, and everything we have been through, it is pretty hard to stay in the doldrums.  I am sure you have your story that reads about the same.

Since the beginning of March, all of our lives have changed and continue to change as we adjust to this crazy world we live in.  Things we took for granted are now closed, or closing and we are having to learn to do without or have a new game plan.  For the past twenty years, truck stops have been our refuge when away from home.  Truck stops are adjusting their way of doing business, and many amenities are being scaled back or closed down.  How thankful we have become that the truck stops are keeping their doors open, showers cleaned, C-store fully stocked, and have choices of food to purchase. 

From the time we started over the road in the first Freightliner, we have been comfortable in our home away from home.  The truck and sleepers have been our refuge and quiet place from the hustle and bustle of the world.  How far we have come from that first truck as drivers to now owning our own 2019 Freightliner Cascadia. 

While the day might not have started on a happy note, it did not take long to get back on an even keel and be thankful for what we have accomplished over the past 41 years.  We cannot predict the future. We are taking one day at a time and making the most of what that day hands us.

Look around you, and it will not take you long to realize that we have many reasons to be thankful.