It's a Team's Life

Team Driving

Team Driving

Living in tight quarters for weeks or months at a time can be very volatile. As a team, my husband and I have had our marriage and our business challenged many times. I am sure that is true for all teams. Whether you are spouses, siblings  or parent/child teams temperatures can rise from time to time. What do you do when this happens? How do you resolve conflict or reach a compromise?

People who do not drive over the road have no idea what it is like to live in very confined spaces. When talking with family or friends about what it is like to spend so much time together there are several things that I mention in our conversation. First, I break down a 24 hour period for them. I say, not including sleep time how much time do you actually spend with your spouse or partner? They guess 8 hours. Next I ask, of those 8 hours how many of those hours are you actually in the same room for the same amount of time? While one might be in the kitchen making supper the other might be outside mowing the lawn. You see where I am going with this? By the end of the conversation the conclusion is that they spend about 2 hours a day together.

Another approach I take is to suggest that the duo imagine spending all of their time in what amounts to the size of a small closet. The only time they can leave that space is to use the bathroom, get a quick meal or take a shower. Now imagine spending weeks or months in that closet with limited amounts of time outside of that space. The typical reaction I get is: “NO WAY!” Or, “I don’t think I could do that.”

Now, getting back to the questions above. We all know that life on the road can be difficult. Before we got into trucking my husband and I could hold a grudge for a good amount of time. Since we have become truck drivers we have learned how to get over things very quickly. We have figured out that we need to forgive and forget. In a worst case, we at least find a way to move on through compromise and kindness. In the end, we are partners both in life and in our business. In order for our business to succeed our marriage has to be strong. And in order for our marriage to succeed we need to be kind in the most difficult times. 

Wishing you millions of safe, profitable and KIND miles.

Kelly Plumb