Training Week 1

Wow! It has been a crazy few days! I'm currently somewhere in Maryland, and Don is somewhere in Kansas. We met up with our trainers (whom, incidentally, are both very nice people!), and have been learning a lot every day.

Sunset in South Carolina

My first day, I experienced driving with and without a trailer, as well as with an empty and with a full trailer. I drove in rain and over hills, and saw the aftermath of 2 major vehicle accidents as well as witnessed a trailer drop (falling off the truck due to being improperly hooked up). I successfully picked up and/or delivered two loads over short distances and picked up a trailer for the next day before calling it a night.

My second day was even crazier - we had to wait most of the day for repairs to be made, then when we finally got rolling we ended up in terrible weather - lightning, rolling thunder, and torrential downpours, the kind that force you to drive 20 mph in a 70mph zone because you can't see the car in front of you! It finally cleared up near sunset and I got to experience some night driving before the weather turned nasty again. In a short period of time, there was so much water on the road and the lights were gleaming off of it in just the right way that I couldn't see where my lane lines were. To make it worse, my trailer tires were slipping in the water on the road. Let's just say I was a little stressed out! I called it a night and my trainer finished driving the load in, and we got it to its destination on time the next morning.

Don's driving so far hasn't been quite so bad, but he has spent more time waiting around for loads, or waiting to drop loads off due to paperwork errors (the company's fault, not his), or waiting around for the service department to come fix a flat tire! He too has experienced some bad weather and less than ideal driving conditions.

Clouds before the storm

Backing is still difficult for me but I'm getting better with daily practice. I've learned how to deal with hills, narrow roads, and bad directions! I've been cut off by cars as well as by other truck drivers, and nearly run off the road because of drivers not paying attention.

However, in the course of the last few days, we have seen some beautiful country. We've seen sunrises and sunsets, thunderstorms and rainbows. We've seen trees and lakes and clouds and flowers and people picnicking. And driving is fun. Driving down an open road, enjoying beautiful scenery and getting the job done is fun.

This training period is not easy. Being apart from each other is difficult. Learning the ins and outs and details of driving is stressful. But when we are back together, in our own truck, it will be worth it. Until then, we will "embrace the suck"* and stay positive. This isn't forever, this too shall pass. And then I'll be back with the love of my life, doing something that we enjoy and making money at the same time! Doesn't that sound great!


*military term meaning to deal with things you don't like and keep a good attitude

Hurry Up and Wait

Three days of orientation done, and we are OFFICIALLY HIRED!!!! Feels good to have a job again!

Now we are waiting to get on the road with our trainers. Once we are with our trainers, it will be 3-4 weeks of driving with them before we can upgrade to our own truck and be back together. Unfortunately, however, we are going into a holiday weekend and the majority of experienced drivers are taking home time right now. So now it's a waiting game, dealing with doing nothing, setting us back that much farther. It's frustrating right now.

Buuuuuuuut it will all be worth it when it's over and we're back together! So in the meantime, we enjoy a few more days together and try to relax before the real fun starts...

Get Ready, Get Set...

I passed the CDL test! We both got our CDLs - and we both passed the hazardous materials tests too, so now we each have the hazmat endorsement (which means more money).

Now that the tests are done, it's like a huge dark cloud hovering over us just left. Now we can focus on getting everything packed up and put in storage over the next few days. It's all the stress of moving, but almost worse because, instead of going from one house to another, we are putting everything in storage for the next few years.

A few days ago, we took a few photos together, just to commemorate the ending of this chapter in our lives and the beginning of the next. It's been a good chapter, full of memories... Now we're ready for the next chapter.

This weekend we are getting on a bus and heading to orientation with our new company. We will have a few days of orientation, then we will each go on the road with a trainer for a few weeks (about a month depending on how fast we get through the driving time). After that, we'll be back together, on our own, and in our own truck!

We're not looking forward to being apart for awhile, but it's a necessary step in the training process, and it's a short time in the grand scheme of things. And there are always phone calls, and pictures, and possibly even a weekend together somewhere in the process. And after that - well, after that, we never have to be apart again unless we choose to.

In fact, we'll literally be together the entire time. It's definitely going to test our relationship, and a lot of couples don't make it as a team because they can't deal with being crammed together, in the space of a walk-in closet, all day every day. However, we work well together as a team, and I'm confident that with a good deal of patience, love, and understanding, the building blocks of teamwork, we will be just fine. After all, when we first started out together, we lived in a tent (it's a long story). We've been through difficult times together and it always makes us stronger.

Here's to the next chapter in life. The adventure is beginning!

Almost There...

Who would've thought that getting a CDL would be this hard????

Hubby at the wheel of a school truck

Before we made this decision, we talked to several truckers and did our research. We heard a lot about different companies, training programs, driving in multiple states, and anxiety on your first solo run. We had no idea that actually obtaining a CDL would prove a little challenging.

In the great state of Indiana, the commercial drivers license test is comprised of three parts:

Demonstrating parallel park

1. The pre-trip inspection, involving naming over 100 parts of the truck, trailer, and inside the cab, and informing the examiner what should be checked on each of those parts to ensure safe operation of the vehicle, as well as actually checking the function of key parts like the brake system.

2. The skills test, which means three backing maneuvers: a straight line back up, an off-set back up to the right side, and a parallel park. These three maneuvers are boxed by lines with cones over them. Touching any of these lines or their cones, or pulling ahead too many times, mean points against you; too many points, or getting out of the truck too many times, means you fail.

3. The road test. If you get this far, you're still not in the clear because simply hitting a curb or taking both of your hands off the wheel are automatic fails. Shifting on railroad tracks, driving a mile faster than the speed limit in a school zone, or impeding traffic are also automatic fails. Points against you can be given for grinding gears, crossing lines, turning to wide or too narrow, driving too fast or too slow, or any other issues.

Keep in mind that at this point, we have been in school for 3 weeks. We have each driven between a half hour and an hour most days of the 2nd and 3rd weeks, logging about 4-5 hours of driving time altogether. We have spent several more hours on the practice range in the school parking lot learning the backing maneuvers, and practicing the pre-trip inspection and brake check on school trucks. It's not a lot of time to learn everything needed to pass the test.

Honestly, we both failed the test the first time around. Don did not fail through any fault of his own - the truck broke down at an intersection and he was unable to complete the test. Me...well I failed the parallel backing - mostly because I was nervous and set up incorrectly, then got frustrated and upset when I couldn't get it in the box.

Don took his test again two days later and passed with flying colors! Half of the Davis team now has a CDL. I will re-take the test on Tuesday. Believe me, I have been busting my butt on the practice range, figuring out what I did wrong and how to make sure it does not happen again. I am nervous about the re-test but strangely not as nervous as the first time I took it. Please keep us in prayer as we spend all our spare time this week getting everything packed and put in storage! The adventure is about to begin...

It's hard to tell, but I'm smiling...

One Week Down!

Whew... One week of driving training down, two weeks to go! It's been a stressful week but we have learned SO much.

Out to dinner to celebrate our first week

Unfortunately, I woke up with a head cold on Monday morning, which made me miserable for the first few days of class. Monday we spent the first half of the day filling out paperwork and then began learning from the CDL manual. Tuesday morning was more learning from the manual and quizzes on what we had learned. Then by Tuesday afternoon, we headed to the DMV to take the written tests for our driving permits! With three tests to take (general knowledge, air brakes, and combination vehicles), and less than two days of learning the information, it was a stressful time. But praise God, hubby and I both passed the tests and obtained our CDL permits.

First time driving a semi, and first time backing up!

The next few days have been continued classroom learning on things that we need to know before hitting the road - log books, hours of service limits, parts of the trucks and trailers, trip planning, map reading, turning safely, and a lot more information!

However, the thing most intimidating to me is learning to shift in a ten-speed manual transmission. Or maybe I should say...learning to shift in any manual transmission! Yeah, I've never driven a manual before...which meant I had a hard time understanding the concepts of shifting. Thankfully my sweet husband took the time to explain it all to me and reassure me that I would be able to pick it all up. My instructors were also patient with me and took me out in a bobtail (tractor without a trailer) to do laps around the parking lot practicing shifting.

Hubby smiling from the cab

We also got to start practicing straight backing yesterday - which is exactly what it sounds like, going backward and forward in a straight line within the confines of a very narrow lane of cones. For the next two weeks we will practice straight backing, offset backing (backing in a S-shape), and parallel parking. We will also be practicing the pre-trip inspection that must be done every time before driving a truck, since this is also on the CDL test. And finally we will get out on the road and actually drive!

We still have a long way to go, but we've already received offers from five different trucking companies. We've pretty sure we've narrowed it down to the one we want to hire on with, but please keep us in prayer as this is a big decision. In the meantime, please continue to keep us in prayer as we continue learning to drive!

The Next Chapter

Ever felt like you're right on the brink of something huge? 

Like standing on the edge of a cliff, scared to jump off but knowing that you will always regret it if you don't jump?

Well, my wonderful husband and I have spent a lot of time thinking and praying about where we are in our lives right now. We're both working 12 hour night shifts, hardly ever spending time together, and always short on money, just trying to make ends meet. And there just doesn't seem to be much out there as far as better options. It's not a sustainable life - we can't keep living like this for the next 20 years. We want to start a family, to buy a house and settle down, to have rocking chairs sitting on a wrap-around porch and time to relax in them once in awhile. The path we're on right now is just not getting us there...

A recent camping trip

So we've decided to hit the road.

We've been talking about it ever since we've been together - a backup plan, if you will - and now we've finally decided to do it. We're going to be truckers!

You, Me, and #3 are going on the road. We're starting CDL school on Monday, and if all goes well, Lord willing in three weeks we will be newly certified CDL holders. From there, whatever company we sign on with will conduct their own training course (usually 3-6 weeks). And then we'll be on our own, just the three of us and the open road.

Can I just say how amazing that sounds? Other than this past Valentine's Day, my sweet hubby and I have never had a holiday together, and our days off rarely coincide. Of course, a good deal of time in the truck will be spent with one person driving and the other person sleeping, but still, we'll be together. And whatever challenges and issues we face while driving, we can face them together instead of having to deal with them alone.

Of course, there's a scary side to this, too. We've put in notice at our jobs, apartment, etc. There's really no safety net here, and not much of a margin on the budget either. It's a huge step of faith, and quite frankly, it's terrifying.

It would be easy to repeat the cliche, God will provide. It's true - I know He will, I've seen Him do it time and again. However, it is not enough to simply sit on one's rear end and wait for Him to provide. That is not the life He has called us to by any means. 

"For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10

This step is huge, but Lord willing, it is the step that will help us get to where we want to be. Operating under the principle of sacrificing now to get what you want later (i.e., delayed gratification), taking a few years now to live on the road and do without a lot of things in life that we take for granted will benefit us greatly in the long run. Without many bills to pay, we can pay off what debt we have and set aside money for our future. After a few years, and we see what happens with the economy and a new president in office, perhaps there will be better jobs out there for us. Decent jobs with regular hours, a house on some property, a couple of little munchkins...all of that is out of our reach right now, but is feasible in a few years if we make this sacrifice now.

Boating on a lake

In the meantime, we prepare to learn as much as we can during school and over-the-road training, so that we can be as prepared as possible for the challenges ahead. It's a new chapter in our lives, one that is very exciting (albeit slightly scary!), and we can't wait to see what God has for us on this journey. Please keep us in prayer as we take this huge step! And never fear, I plan to document the highlights and interesting moments as they come, as well as scenery and events we encounter when we're finally on the road! 

We're right on the edge of the cliff, leaning forward, feet leaving the edge, committing to the dive, knowing that we could smash to a painful death on the rocks below...but looking forward to spreading our wings and learning to fly!

So keep on climbing, though the ground might shake,  

Just keep on reaching though the limb might break,  

We've come this far, don't you be scared now,  

'Cause you can learn to fly on the way down.  

-Maddie and Tae, "Fly"

The Value of Family

My parents and I, Fall 2012

Tonight I had a long talk on the phone with my mama. Sighs...oh how I miss that lady.

A week or two ago, I had a nice phone conversation with my dad as well - which is slightly unusual since neither of us are very good at chatting on the phone. I miss him too.

And a few weeks ago, we took a few days off and helped my sweet husband's parents move into a new house. I've always gotten along with them, but it was my first chance to really spend time with them and we bonded in a new and wonderful way. And I miss them too.

Hubby with his parents, Spring 2014

And of course, there's my hubby's brother and sister and their spouses and children. Years ago, when I used to pray for my future husband, I wished for a man with a close-knit family. Having no siblings of my own, getting a ready-made family in my in-laws, nieces, and nephews, is an incredible blessing. I miss them too.

And then there's the people that I consider family that aren't actually related. People like my "sisters," Krystle and Kaitlyn; like my "grandfather," Phil; like my "nieces" and "nephew" in California; and like several other people that are dear to my heart. Of course, none of them are close enough to see regularly, and so I miss each and every one.

Someone once said, "Family is not always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs, the ones who accept you for who you are."

Someday we might live closer to some of our family members, but there will always be people that we love who are not nearby. There will always be pieces of our hearts in other places. It can't be helped. But we can't let that stop us from meeting and loving new people and making friends and "family" in new places.

Nor can we let it stop us from being the kind of people that love and accept others in the way that family should. After all, we all share the same Heavenly Father, which makes us all family! Everyone we meet can be a brother or sister, a friend and neighbor, a fellow sinner in need of saving grace. Let's be the kind of family to each other that makes our Heavenly Father proud.

Welcome to the family!