Insight Into Our Life

There are so many things that happen in each person's life that allows them to give them insight to people who aren't in your shoes. While we were home I was asked for insight into the company we are leased to, and approached for help in another. While answering questions or concerns about a company is something most in the trucking world are familiar with, the request for help came as a shock to me. I know my family has a tendency to look down their nose at our lifestyle, and somewhat don't care, I never considered there were others who honestly want to be in our shoes.

My life five years ago was so different than my life now. I was just finishing my Bachelors degree in Accounting. I thought despite having businesses I did accounting for close, I would still be able to find a job in my field. As a last resort, I went back to Customer Service. As many know, the economy was (and in my opinion still is) in a slump. My husband decided to start looking into trucking. (He used to drive in the 90's, and considering the paychecks he was receiving was considering it again.) We were barely making it, and many times had to give up lots just to be able to somehow make ends meet. Life was a struggle, but we were home and living a rather traditional life.

Three and a half years ago we boarded a bus bound for Salt Lake City. After a lot of research, and talking to people who would end up being very dear friends, we decided on Central Refrigerated as the company we would start with. (In my opinion, they are a decent starter company, but you must remember trucking is your way to make a living, and treat it like a business whether you lease from them or not.) While we were there, many things happened (like our Chi passing away) and many people began forming opinions of how wrong we were for starting this. Obviously, we couldn't take the kids with us during training, so our oldest son was left in charge of the girls at home. Slowly we worked our way toward owning our own truck (including leasing a truck from our company), and being able to have our daughter on the truck. 

I have ALWAYS wanted to homeschool my girls, but never felt like we were able to do it. I am in awe of the people who can homeschool at home, but staying home (reducing the household income) and schooling the kids was not something I ever thought I could do. Well, trucking and homeschooling to me just fit. Now, I could homeschool my daughter and still work! I knew it would be hard work, but I wanted to do it. I have learned homeschooling is a lifestyle many look down on, but a choice few admire it. Since trucking is much the same, homeschooling on the truck definitely something a great many look down on. 

Last year we chose a curriculum we thought would work because it would be easy (Switched-On Schoolhouse). While the curriculum would work for some, it felt like we were fighting the curriculum and fighting each other on learning. It just was not for us. We spent the the latter part of the school year considering what curriculum we would use this school year. We discussed many choices, and finally I chose Sonlight for the main portion of the curriculum, Apologia for science (saving the experiments for when we are at home), and (based on the suggestion from Sonlight) Teaching Textbooks for math. I think the curriculum has been a great fit. I love reading, and now that love of reading has been passed on to my daughter!

My daughter reading while we wait for service to be done on the truck. I love that she chose to read.

Homeschooling on its own can be difficult. Trucking can be difficult. Combine the two and you have so many opportunities for failure. There are many times I have literally fallen asleep reading with my daughter. I plan out what we will do each day, but then we do what we can when we can. Sometimes we struggle with getting things done, but every day I see progress! It is amazing.

Among the concerns for homeschooling in general, which homeschooling on the truck magnifies, is the socialization. Does my daughter socialize with kids her own age? No. However, consider your own friends. How many friends are within a year or two of your own age? Not many, I would guess. My daughter may not interact on a daily basis with people her own age, but she can show respect for people older than her, and help people in many places. She is a wonderful young woman (of course I am a little partial). We are blessed with a large family, and she has been able to spend time with many different people along the way.

While our life is not typical, I am happy with the choices we have made. I am happy we are together on the truck. It is difficult, but to me it is so worth it. 

"My favorite thing about school is reading."

I love reading. There are some books I drudge through, when required to read, but most I breeze through and have to be forced to stop reading. My issue, if I get distracted, I tend to want to read something different when I start reading again. I regularly would have a stack of books, all of which I am part of the way through (kind of like my crocheting projects, lots started).
I fell in love with the idea of the kindle as soon as I saw it. I thought it would be an awesome way to keep my multiple books down to just one item. (I have thanked my daughter several times for listening to her mother once and buying just what I wanted.)
We struggled through our first year homeschooling. We thought a curriculum that was computer based would be the best for us on a truck. We picked Switched on Schoolhouse by Alpha Omega. It was alright, but the answers had to be formatted perfectly to get answers correct. It was beyond frustrating. I did not enjoy teaching. She didn't enjoy learning. It wasn't a good year.
We started looking in April for a curriculum to switch to. My husband wanted to use Abeka or BJU. I really wanted to use Sonlight. I was hopeful my love of reading could rub off on just one more of my daughters. So, slowly I got the curriculum, and were able to start. We had a late start due to a company switch, but the further we get into the curriculum, the more I enjoy it.
We were discussing her progress this year, when she said, "My favorite thing about school is reading." She thought she was struggling with Math, and was amazed to see her B+. Likewise, she was impressed to see her A- in Science. I however, was blown away to hear how she loves reading. I am so impressed. I trusted my gut and listened to my cousin (and only other family member who homeschools), and am loving it.
Sometimes, changing to something the teacher(parent) enjoys is the best thing for all involved.

Clearing the Foggy Attitude

Yesterday as I drove from Illinois into Memphis TN, I drove through some fog and thought about how this fog was like my attitude. I have been trying desperately to not write about my frustrations and turn this into a vent, so I have held much of it in. I have not discussed my frustrations with a screwed up Christmas or our blown turbo. Believe me this year hasn't started much better than last year began. As a result my attitude has become as dreary as a foggy landscape.
It hit me as I was making that drive. Sometimes being foggy is okay. It is in these times I keep my head focused on what is right ahead of me. Can I see miles ahead? No. Sometimes I cannot see more than a few hundred feet. The focus needed to make it through just a few miles is difficult at times, but when you make it where you need to be, you realize you have accomplished something.
In our trucking life I have grumbled, and let my inner grumblings affect my attitude. However, I had to really to stop and consider we have paid off several things, and now our work will be more in our pocket, than paying off bills. We had a bump with our turbo literally blowing apart, but now we have a new turbo, new air filters and new brakes. We are getting somewhere, just slowly and still unable to see beyond our immediate future.
On the homeschooling front, this month brings semester reports. I discovered how far we have come. We should meet attendance goal by April. Boo is really enjoying reading. Let me say that again. BOO IS ENJOYING READING!!! I prayed this day would come. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers.
On a personal note, I have long prayed for a way to use my piece of paper I spent 17 years to complete. (I have an Accounting degree that is only useful to our family.) I am still praying, but with the help of a radio visionary, my prayers may be getting answered. I don't want to share too much but I ask you prày His will be done in this situation.
We are two weeks into the new year. Before too long the first month will be over, and time will speed by faster than we imagine. I still can't see much beyond our immediate future, but I am thankful for this time we have just kept our nose to the grindstone and can now look up and appreciate the distance we have come. My foggy attitude is clearing, but I will just keep focusing on the immediate future and being thankful for each little mile marker we pass.

"I am glad I am homeschooled."

I had a lot of things flowing in my head unable to find the time to get the ideas from my head to this white surface. I have really been trying to be purposeful about what I share. Then, the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook happened. When I woke up from my nap (I was asleep when it happened), the first words from my daughter's mouth were, "I am glad I am homeschooled. I don't ever want to go to a public school again."
I don't share that because homeschooling is the answer for everyone, believe me it is hard work. I don't share that because I feel we are somehow safe, I know tragedy can happen anywhere to anyone. I share her words only because they were her words in response to the saddening news (she was literally crying about it). I struggled with sharing her words, and keep coming back to them.
While I am glad she expressed those feelings, and feels bad for the families, I know there will come a point those feelings will fade. At some point, most of America will forget the tragedy, and only remember it when it is brought up later. This tragedy will change several families forever, but not all of us. At some point the same old family arguments will happen throughout the country, we will forget just how quickly things can change.
I struggled sharing anything on the tragedy because I struggle with the why. I don't understand why no matter what your issue is with your parents or your mental issues, why take that out on innocence. So many innocent lives have been taken, and blame is placed on so many things. Why did this happen?
This morning I heard Mike Huckabee say (I will quote as best I can), "How can we hope to have a moral society in a Godless vacuum?" How true. No matter how little sense we will ever make of this tragedy, I have to remember this Godless vacuum so many are pushing for is one of the reasons I always wanted to homeschool. How can anyone expect children to have a heart for others if they are in a electronic induced fantasy world filled with selfishness and slaughter? No, that is not a slam on video games in entirety. However, so many parents allow video games, television, computers, and public school to take the place of any sort of family time.
Why do we homeschool? Yes it is because we drive a truck, but so much more. We homeschool because I have long believed this education system is failing our children. I believe the cliches that I remember only in middle and high school have invaded the elementary schools and with it the sexual promiscuity that does not belong. We homeschool because we want to be together. We homeschool for these reasons and so many more. Every day we are reminded of why we do this, and become more thankful we do.
While my daughter can be hugged daily, so can most others. Hug your children. Teach them to be moral. Spend time with them. Pray with them. Pray for them. There are families who cannot do these things any longer. The most important thing we can ever give our children is our time, and they deserve more of our time and our prayers.

Thankful for my Phone

Last year my sister did a blogpost a day about different things she was thankful for. She calls November her month of thankfulness. I loved the idea, and decided I really wanted to do the same.
I realize it may be silly to start with, but I really am thankful for my phone. Now that cell phones are so common, have you ever tried to find a pay phone? I remember one day we were at home, my phone died, and I had no charger, I went to five different gas stations looking for a working pay phone. It was so difficult I almost gave up. My phone was my life line, and it had been rendered useless.
While my phone is capable of communication via speech, it is also capable of so much more. I text more than talk (it seems so much less intrusive on people's lives), and my phone lets me do this. These two things are all my first cellphone would let me do, but now it is a minicomputer. I listen to music, watch movies, listen to or read books, take pictures, follow facebook and twitter, study the bible, post this blogpost, and so much more. It is incredible how I depend on my phone. I am sure I am not alone.
While the first item I am thankful for may seem silly, trust me I would be lost without it, but am very thankful I have it when I am lost.

Monday :-(

I am so glad the day is over for me. I know some don't understand, but when you wake up at midnight, the day ends about noon. The day started with unloading in Tulsa. Couldn't see the sunrise as it was behind me most of the time and then shining in the mirror too bright for my eyes. My drive was good. Ended the day in Albuquerque with a shower and lunch.
About the shower, if I have to wait over half an hour for a shower because you haven't washed enough towels, then it better be clean! Was it? Obviously not or I wouldn't be complaining. There was dust on several things and little black hairs on everything else (like the shower curtain, sink, shelf for you to set your bag, etc.). After being informed as to why the shower took so long, there was no way I was going to demand it be cleaned. I used the washcloth and wiped everything I would need to touch, and took a quick shower. Afterwards I made sure they knew I was not happy with the bathroom. They acted like I was crazy.
After my hubby got done with his shower, we went to eat at Denny's. Before I could even sit down, I had to request they clean the seat first. Honestly, are my expectations too high???
Anyway I will finish the first book today. Mara is definitely an intriguing book with a lot of history behind it. I hope my daughter likes it. I am really feeling great about our curriculum choice.

I feel old

Ever have one of those mornings you just feel old? Well, when I woke up today I felt like my husband had run over me with the truck and picked me up and put me in bed since the truck insurance will only pay for my death if I die in the truck. My back feels like a steel rod. Where my back goes into my hips is now a firm fitting as well. I feel like a robot.
Anyway, enough complaining, about that any way. We ran out from San Francisco to Newark as hard as we could with having not been in our regular schedule. (Nearly 3000 miles in 56 hours, with several hours in California and several more in the traffic on the east coast). We can average a bit faster than the 52 mph we did, but with my stomach wanting to revolt day before yesterday, I really don't think that was bad at all. I digress. We get to Newark at shortly after 7 p.m., to be told to back in around cars that are just parked however, in a space barely wide enough for our trailer, definitely not capable of having us back around these cars to go into a hanger. UUUUGGGGHHHH. Do people seriously not understand our trailer is 53' long and 102" wide. We cannot back the 53' worth of trailer around cars only parked 10' apart, and definitely not when there is little more than that to maneuver. When we had our other AOG, they asked when we would be there, had a crew ready, and we parked on the tarmac while they did the change out. This time (different company), we are being asked to unload everything, and go wherever until they are done with the engine, then we can reload and be back on our way. It is against Southern Pride policy to leave the facility on an AOG until the new engine has been run tested. I guess exceptions are made. This company only has an engine change out crew on the clock from 8 - 5. So, an AOG, which takes on average 15 hours to complete the full swap and test, now delays us by almost 48 hours instead of the usual 15. So, we reminded them in San Francisco about the need for an empty stand, and tow bars, all for nothing. We further confirmed we would be taking the same junk back for nothing yet again, except to be delayed for longer.

Well, at least I will get to finish reading the first book for Bonnie, maybe work on the new sleeper plans, work on the budget, and work on any other organizational things I come across in the mean time. And yet again, we will be all out of sorts, and drag our butts back to San Francisco. Lets just say I won't care when we get there after this.