There are many advantages to establishing a career as a long-haul trucker. But when you drive a big rig for a living, you get too used to your own company. For married truckers and those in committed relationships, OTR trucking can be a lonely lifestyle.
As one Canadian trucker noted wryly, “that load is number one, our families [are] number two.” Indeed, broken relationships and divorces are quite common for those in the trucking industry.
Can Truckers Keep the Home Fires Burning?
Truckers must learn how to do just that if they want a spouse or partner to come home to at the end of a run. But the spouses and partners of OTR truckers must also be committed to making the relationship work despite the challenges life on the road presents.
People often believe that marriages and relationships are 50-50, with each partner contributing and receiving equal efforts. In a perfect world, that might be true. But the reality is that most relationships exist in a constant state of flux wherein one partner puts in more effort than the other. This can change by the day, but the sweet spot for healthy relationships is where both partners’ efforts meet somewhere close to the middle.
Below are some tips to keep both joy and passion alive in your life.
Use Technology to Enhance Your Time Apart
With all the ways to stay in touch with loved ones – FaceTime videos, Zoom, texting and regular phone calls – you have no excuse to go dark when hauling a load far from home. Schedule uninterrupted private chats with your loved one and treat these times as if they were actual dates. Be on time, freshly showered and, above all, fully present for your time together.
Don’t Allow Jealous Paranoia Ruin a Good Relationship
Remember that the person back home must find ways to fill the empty hours when you are gone. As long as that time isn’t spent with different paramours, hanging all night in bars or doing illegal drugs, be supportive of their interests and activities.
Misdirected jealousy or insistence that a faithful spouse is stepping out of the relationship is a quick way to end an otherwise happy union.
Learn How to Communicate in Healthy Ways
Do you listen or wait to talk? If it’s the latter, you are missing opportunities to really tune in and connect with your loved one as they express their feelings, thoughts and needs. Whether you agree or not, they deserve to be heard.
Do you have any tips for OTR truckers to maintain their relationships? Leave us a note in the comments.
Sources: truckingtruth.com, monster.com, insider.com
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