how to help a homesick Daddy

Imo, discussing it everytime you two talk only will make it worse. It will get easier with time.

 

definitely keep it positive. if you both have a laptop/computr, you can try using skype. that way he can see you and the kids. definitely a hard lifestyle when you have family.

 

I have 3 kids back at home and my Wife and I tried everything but dealing with the homesickness is hard to do. I just tell myself I am doing it for my kids and Wife to provide a roof over their head and food on the table. When I am away from home I try to turn/burn as much as possible since I can relax once I am home.

Talking with my Wife about all good/bad issues is good since I am still involved in the decision making. It is difficult when I leave home after being home for a week and my 5 year old starts crying and screaming for me. I just tell myself that it won't be forever plus I usually will leave at 4-5 am so my kids are asleep.

 

My wife used to sneak and put little notes from her and the boys in a folded-up tee-shirt..when I got to the motel , and showered I would find them as I was getting dressed....talk about cheering a tired fella up...worked every time. She also put pictures and notes into the pages of my log-book....little things maybe...but after 20 years or more now...I still tear-up talking about them....Good Luck , and remember , it doesn't have to be much....

 

yes Skype,tango or face time is great. at least he can tell them good night and you too while seeing all of you.. I know its never easy but it will get tolerable until he gets into a local or regional gig maybe. Don't let him get discouraged. remember we all need to eat and have some type of benefits to support our loved ones but its more important that he knows he has support from home.. OTR isn't easy and it takes a lot of dedication to endure it. When I first started I had 3 little girls (5,4,2 years old) at home and I would call from the phone booths or tables at the truck stops, All I had was a phone card. At least hearing them was comforting. I have 4 grandkids now and the smartphones have made it way easier.

 

There is a difference in discussing difficulties that you are having and B*&%^ING about how hard you have it. Yeah you need to include him in the discussion and decision making about how things should be done but (hate to put it this way) nagging all the time about how hard it is on you does not help. Yeah he needs to be aware of it and maybe he can help you with it but NOT every conversation. My daughter went through the same thing, only she had twins and he was in the military.

 

With all of the communication options we have at our fingertips today, keeping in touch is very easy. As others have posted, Skype and other video-chat programs are great. With cell phones and the plans available, staying connected is much easier than it used to be. It used to be that you had to wait until you stopped and got to a phone and hoped they weren't out and missed your call.

As far as your hardship is concerned; look for truckers' wives groups on Facebook or other social media. My wife is a member of one or two of those and I think, for the most part, it's a great thing, since there are others she can talk to. Just don't get sucked into some of the drama that you will unavoidably come across. She doesn't really need it because we communicate regularly and deal with things as a team, but, still, she likes having others in the same lifestyle (that's what it is, a lifestyle) to chat with, trade ideas, that sort of thing.

 

Luckily I'm back every week to see my brats.

 

Lucky for me im local, you could put the i pad on the pass seat call up face time and boom your in the truck!