What a change from the ordinary 9-5 desk job! It is different, to say the least. It has been a long time in the making – and maybe not of my making. I decided that I would learn to drive a semi with a trailer! The employer had a great training opportunity right on-site to learn all I needed to learn to get my license. I just needed to pass my permit test.
With that being said, I passed my permit, training, and my CDL test. I am driving a semi with a trailer – loaded and unloaded – down the highways of southern Minnesota! Where can you go to get that kind of training and get started almost immediately?
It has been one month and I have logged some miles. We do short trips and 12 hour days. I get to see the countryside every day and it is great! I miss going with my husband in the truck when he used to drive cross country. The landscape changes daily – even if it is the same field or road every day. There is always something new to see.
I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy rolling down the highway in that big rig! A woman, a big rig, and lots of places to go. Granted, it is still very much a man’s game when it comes to driving trucks. I have always wanted to at least try to drive one. Having my permit at one time, made me want to drive all the more. Driving a school bus gave me a good sense of what it could be like – minus the kids!
Learning how to maneuver a bus around tight turns, using all the senses to keep everyone safe, and feeling the weight of a large automobile prepared me for this new path I have taken in my life. People really ought to try things out. I don’t care if I have tried several “careers” in my life. I live once and I might as well “live” it!
What scares me the most is thinking that I may not get a chance to try something new – something I thought I would never think to try. Chances have to be taken to live a life worth living. We have all seen that phrase many times throughout the years and it resonates with me the older I get.
People are always saying to me – You changed jobs again? Yes, I have. I am glad to have done the things I have done. Leaving this type of legacy is what I want – when I am gone, my kids and grandkids can say – Yes, mom/grandma did that. I love knowing people that have been at a job for many years. Sometimes I forget that they aren’t like me – which is a good thing!
We are not alike. I don’t want to be like you! To each his/her own. I believe that you can do anything you want – if you want to. I am doing what I want. Challenging myself in new endeavors, opportunities, and situations is always a bit scary for me, I must admit. My husband once told me – You are going to get bored doing this or that. Maybe, and maybe not. There are always parts of a job that are boring or I am not challenged enough. Sometimes that can be changed within and sometimes it can’t.
I will be challenged with this new job – weather, road maps, loads, location headings, traffic patterns, and all the other things that come with driving a semi in a small radius. It’s only been a week. I haven’t even gotten my first, full paycheck, but, where else can I go to make some good money, be home every night, have summers off – if I choose, and work with some great people that want to keep me safe and get me home every night?
Last, but not least, I want to assure you that I would never, in my wildest dreams, tell you to stay where you are if you are not happy. I want you to be happy and to “live”. There are so many people that tell me that they could never do what I have done. I call them out and say they can – only if they want to. Insurance, security, benefits – we all have them at our jobs. Mine just look different than yours right now. We are all in different seasons of our lives. My reasons are not your reasons. We are the product of our decisions. You and I are one moment or decision away from a totally different path. Think about that for a minute.
Make your own choice. I have learned that I enjoy the processes. Learning to do something through reading, doing, and practicing is what I have found drives me forward to try new things. Doing what makes sense, at that moment, is the path on this journey to live. The clock is always ticking and I cannot go back. I do not want to go back. The journey is what I want to experience.
P.S. What’s your drive?