George Jones said it best when he sang,
"Finally Friday
I got my motor running for a wild weekend
It's finally Friday
Forget the workin' blues
And let the good times roll"

Rarely does my work week ever end on a Friday. It's often Thursdays, Saturday nights or Sundays. I feel like I miss out on many weekend activities because I'm usually too tired to do anything by the time I get home. My mind is going a mile a minute thinking about everything I need to do to prepare for the upcoming week.
Last week I managed to get in by noon on Friday and didn't need to leave until Sunday morning. I know many of you may think that's hardly a weekend. I was thinking about how I finally get an evening and a day that coordinates with my friends' time off. I had made a few plans already on my way home, so I pretty much had my whole time off planned down to the minute. It was all fun, though, with some practical errands thrown in for good measure.
I went home that Friday afternoon, ran a few errands, and enjoyed some nice Chinese food with my roommate and her boyfriend. We had some good laughs, and I got my fix of doggie snuggles from her two dogs. Life is good!!
I had also made plans with a friend to visit his family farm that Saturday. As I was driving out there, a tik tok video that I saw a while back made me think. It's a video in which a person says, "Tell me you're a such and such without telling me you're a such and such." I got to chuckling as I was driving because, in my mind, I was thinking, "Tell me you're a trucker without telling me you're a trucker." The round trip to my friend's farm was five and a quarter hours! I know many people who wouldn't even leave the city limits to spend a whole weekend away! That's a lot of driving on one's day off, but I couldn't be happier than to spend it watching baby cows and being lucky enough even to see one being born.
I was lucky because no calves were born on Friday before I visited. Instead, three were born that Saturday, then none again the following Sunday. I guess they waited for my visit as a special guest! It's really refreshing to get out of the truck once in a while, get some fresh air, and learn about new things. It was great to spend time in a different industry and how one spends their days tending to the cattle, etc. I stayed the better part of the day just watching all the goings-on and taking pictures of baby cows. I find they have a way of bringing a certain calmness to me. It makes me not think about all I have to do to prepare for the upcoming work week. I definitely need more days like this!
I also enjoyed visiting with my friend's dad that day as well. He's a trucker that has travelled to Texas many times, so we had a lot in common to talk about. It's nice to relate to the location when someone is telling a story or knowing how awful the traffic is or how easy it is to take a wrong route. When I was about to leave, I said goodbye and thank you for letting me spend the day and for providing meals, when my friend's dad said to come back any time. I took that as a great compliment! I've always felt I get along with people of all ages. Part of that, I think, is because I am always willing to listen to their stories and share some of my own.
I've gotten so much fabulous feedback on articles since I started writing a few years ago. Even when I think I just repeated myself or the writing was a dud, I felt it wasn't creative enough. That has been such a fantastic feeling knowing it has cheered someone up, brought a new perspective to life, or felt that people could relate to. I've had people message me privately, telling me stories of their lives that they thought they couldn't share with others because they didn't think others would understand. The opportunity to write this column has been therapeutic for me because it gives me an outlet for my thoughts and ideas. It's also been therapeutic for others who would like to share their stories with me and somehow feel a sense of relief and happiness. When people ask why I got into trucking and what I would do if I weren't trucking, I tell them I'd still be doing this. I can never explain enough how trucking has brought so much positivity into my life and let me get creative. Meeting new people, sharing stories, and having our little therapy sessions are so fulfilling. Visiting the farm was just the therapy session I needed the other day. It gave me a new focus to calm down, stop thinking for a minute, breathe and enjoy what nature offers us. We all need to step away from our workplaces and find the little things in life that bring us joy. I find I'm always chasing that all mighty dollar, and sometimes there are just more important things in life.
Speaking of spending money, The Brain (my truck) will be getting some new and exciting additions and a spa treatment in the next month, so stay tuned for my full report on his little transformation!