Hayden's Birthday
 |
Recently, I was able to post a video slideshow titled “God Made a Trucker” which detailed what it meant to do what it is we do in this industry through my eyes. Out of all of the parts of that video, the parts that really hit home for me were the ones that reminded me of my daughter, or the time that I am away to be more specific. As truckers, many of us strive to work hard in hopes we can give a better life to the children we leave behind at home. It takes a tremendous amount of personal sacrifice to be a trucking father on the road.
Not even a month old and signaling "Touchdown" for daddy's Texans!
 |
Being a new father and celebrating my first Father’s Day with my six month old daughter Hayden Hope, reminds me why I do what I do everyday. Having conquered the majority of my over-the-road driving while I was younger and newer to this industry, I was able to wait until I was older to settle down and have a family. Being a father at the age of thirty-two was even a far stretch for me. I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a fair amount of partying to get out of my system when I was younger, but I never really had the urge to settle down and have kids. It was only later in my life, around the age of thirty, which I decided it would be a good time for my wife and I to start making a family of our own if we were ever going to do so. This was about the time I also really started to concentrate on the numbers behind switching from regional to super-regional/local, to be home more with my family.
Daddy-Daughter Time
 |
Hayden Hope Nevarez was born the morning after Thanksgiving this past year and everyday since continues to bring new light into my life. Everyone was kind of hoping I would have a little girl to “soften” me up a bit and that is exactly what happened! The best part of any day for me is getting to come home and see that little “two-toothed” smile shine up at me as I walk through the door. The way her eyes light up when she sees me truly makes me the happiest man in the world!
Precious Girl
 |
Perhaps the hardest parts of it all are the times when I am away from home. In our industry it goes without saying, that a certain amount of time away is expected as part of the gig. A large part of this heartache can be attributed to not wanting to miss certain milestones. I have always been a firm believer in true sacrifice for earning a reward in any job and have never been afraid to put in my time away from home for an honest days wage. Thanks to technology, being away from our children has grown slightly easier. Owning a smartphone, I have used Skype as a way of seeing what is going on at home while I am away and conversing via video with the family. Texting pictures back and forth makes it a little easier to stay in the loop as well. Now that I have entered into the Facebook scene, I also get the updates from home that way as well.
Little Miracle
 |
Naturally being a creative mind, I have made a lot of things in my life. Above all, the best thing I have ever made is my daughter Hayden! Being able to celebrate the fact that I have a little version of me crawling around with this Father’s Day upon us, I now get what it means to have a “father’s pride”. My hat is off to the dads out there that have chosen to be strong enough to be away from their children in order to provide for them. I now share in this experience of creating a little miracle and know just what it means to be a dad! I wish you all a Happy Father’s day, from one trucking dad to another!