Can you deal with being alone a lot?

• It varies greatly but you can expect hubby to be gone far more than he is home.

Can you run the household without his help?

• Can you mow the lawn?

• Can you fix the plumbing -- or have a good person to call if it needs fixed?

• If the car breaks down, is there someone you can count on to help you or see that you can still get around?

Are you involved in any activities?

• Having your own things to do -- that you look forward to -- will greatly ease the loneliness you may feel.

Do you have friends who are wives of drivers?

• These women will be able to comfort you unlike others outside of this line of work.  They know what it's like when hubby doesn't make it home because of an evil shipper, etc.

What will you want from hubby when he returns from the road?... (It may not be what you'll get.)

• Most drivers, after getting home from the road, want nothing other than to hit the recliner.  Are you going to want to hit him for doing this???

Have you and hubby talked things out?

• How long can you realistically deal with him being away?

• How much income does this driving job have to bring in in order to justify these major life changes?

• Does he really think that when he gets home he throws a week's worth of dirty laundry on the floor -- and it will miraculously be cleaned and folded for him when it's time to go back out?

• Are you going to want to go out when he gets home from the road?  How much "wind down" time are you going to give him before you expect him to take you to the restaurant, to the mall, the park, etc?

• How often will you and he communicate and how?  Will you try to talk every day by telephone?  Email?  Cell phone?

• He needs to understand that being the one at home is no picnic.  You need to address your concerns -- and keep addressing issues as they come up.  Believe me, they will come up.

Honest excuses for him getting home late: (so you won't panic and think he's having an affair)

• layover, waiting to get a load

• layover, waiting for the shipper to get off his behind and load it

• receivers that take all the time in the world to take their load off the trailer

• weather

• breakdown

• load changes

Do you know about the different things companies offer to help drivers stay in touch with their families?  Are you and he pursuing those kinds of benefits?

• Rider Policies

• In-cab email

• Home time policies

Can you deal with / are you willing to deal with problems the children may have because daddy is gone so much?

• This life can be hard on kids but there's so much you can do to keep the relationship bonds tight.  Some families hang a United States map on the wall and put a pin or mark the location "daddy" calls from each time he calls.  Are you willing and ready to develop little games and ideas to keep these crucial bonds strong?

Infidelity -- Cheating -- Jealousy

• Lot Lizards:  these prostitutes of the trucking industry are out there.... most are so nasty it's hard to imagine men wanting them, but they do get business somewhere.  Is your husband trustworthy?

• You really don't have to worry a great deal about your loved one finding the woman of his dreams out there.  Your hubby will be spending most of his time on docks and in truckstops.  These places are not generally populated with a large number of females!  It's easy to imagine that he is out there having a great time with other women but it's much harder to meet a woman on the road than you might think.

Can you adjust to the always changing driver's lifestyle?

• If hubby only has an hour to spare while he's passing through town, will you go to the truckstop to see him or be angry that he doesn't have longer?  (many times it will be out of his control)

Can you be a support base?

• The best thing a driver can ask for is support from home.  When the road has been particularly rough some week, it is a huge boost to be able to call someone who says, "Hang in there, I love you."  If the car broke down, the kids were sick and you'd just gotten 12 inches of snow and had to shovel the driveway, could you be supportive?  It would be so easy to say, "Hey, bud, you think you're having a bad week!!!!"  In the end, though, this would be self-defeating because he'll come to believe he can't call you when things are tough and in the end, this could seriously damage the relationship.  This support base must be mutual.

• Speaking from the viewpoint of a driver, it is incredibly difficult to concentrate on the job when you're worrying about people back home.  If there's any way that your problems/difficulties can wait until he's home, it's best not to even bring them up when he's 1000 miles away.  It's very difficult to know people you love are having problems but you can't do a single thing about them.