Dear Kelly,

I am not new to the trucking life, my Dad was a trucker for over 40 years and my husband has been trucking since we met 12 years ago.

I have always been okay with this lifestyle and kept myself busy with our two children, work and visits with family and friends.

We recently relocated over 200 miles away for a job opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.

I am not working for the first time in 15 years, I don’t have my friends and family here and the children and I are feeling very isolated.

I thought this would be a good time for me to stay at home with the children for awhile as they head toward their teens.

I do not have to work now, but I am finding that I miss that adult interaction terribly.

We’ve been here for almost two months and other than chatting with the clerk at the grocery store and phone calls back home, I haven’t interacted with anyone.

I find myself wishing we hadn’t left sometimes, not always, but when the days get long and the nights longer, it sure is hard to remember why I thought this was a good idea!

Lonely and missing home

Dear Lonely and missing home,

I have a few suggestions for you. Find ways to get your children involved in sports, swimming lessons, music, girl guides/boy scouts (www.girlguides.ca) or other activities.

This is a great way for your children to meet other children and make new friends.

It is also a great way for you to meet other parents. Volunteer in their activities and get involved as much as you can.

If their school has a parent council, get involved in that.

If you have a YMCA (www.ymca.ca)that you can get to, join up there.

They have many lessons and free time activities as well as scheduled activities.

See if your town or city has a recreational program, you may find loads of things you can get involved in.

Learn who your children’s new friends at school are, contact the parents and invite their friends over for a play date.

This is great for your children, as well as initiating contact with some new grown-ups for you.

If your children are both in school, use this time for yourself. Go for a workout, visit the library, volunteer at school or maybe find a course for a hobby that you may be interested in.

See if your husband has talked to other drivers, maybe they have wives at home looking for some company or someone to do things with as well.

Have you thought about taking a part-time job just to get out there?

Maybe a few hours a day while the children are in school would do you good and you could have a little extra money to do fun things with on the weekends?

Whatever you decide, getting out where the people are is the way to meet people and make friends.

Kelly

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Dear Kelly,

I went out with my boyfriend in the truck last week and I have a question for you.

His truck smells so musty and I can’t imagine that is a healthy thing.

He keeps it tidy and doesn’t keep garbage around, but it still smells.

How can we fix this?

Stinky Truck

Dear Stinky Truck,

The next time he is home, grab a bucket, some great smelling cleaners, a vacuum and some elbow grease! Get him to pitch in and the two of you can go to town!

If it’s seen better days, look into replacing it.

Scrub the walls, the corners, the closets.

If there is a fridge in there, scrub that out as well.

Take all the mats out and spray them down with a hose and maybe even a scrub brush and some soap. Clean the seats and any carpet! This is very important as they are probably fabric.

You can get spray-on upholstery cleaners or mix a small bit of laundry detergent with water and scrub the upholstery with a well wrung out damp cloth and wipe with a dry cloth.

Wipe down everything!

Be sure that you use only a damp cloth and dry everything as well.

Vacuum all the carpet and use a small brush attachment to clean the vents as well.

Seat covers are a great thing and it will help keep the seats cleaner.

Invest in some good quality fitted sheets and a mattress pad for the mattress.

He can take these off and wash them when he comes home.

An auto store should have a product that you can use to help with keeping the air conditioning fresh.

You spray it in the outside air intake vent.

It kills bacteria and helps remove the mildew smell that you can get when you turn your air on.

Between cleanings, you can spray an odour remover such as Febreze or Lysol Neutra Air to keep it smelling fresh!

Kelly

– I welcome your questions and comments. I will try to answer as many questions as I can here. Feel free to send me an email at column@atruckerswife.com or snail mail at: Dear Kelly, PO Box 183 Stn. F, Winnipeg, MB, R2L 1M0.