Year 2, Day 167 (Father's Day)

John and I are sitting here in a McDonald's parking lot in Sioux City, IA, where we shut down last night. Our delivery is not until tomorrow morning, so we are getting a re-start on our logbooks. This is a moderately difficult Father's Day, not because I am on the road, but because (as I had posted a couple weeks ago) my wife's Father had passed away recently, and my Dad passed a couple years ago.

The death of a loved one is not easy to deal with, and people deal with it differently. Though when certain days of the year arrive (Mother's/Father's Day, birthday, etc.), dealing with that loss - as well as the memories - can be a tough task. No matter how each of us deal with these situations, one thing that never fades are the memories. The pain eventually fades, but one thing that we should always embrace and try to keep ahold of is the memories.

Never forget!

Year 2, Day 147 (We're In Tulsa... Now We Just Wait)

Last night, Dillard and I shut down in Colby, KS, just 53 miles from the Kansas/Colorado state line. It was a good thing we parked there when we did, as it had already been windy, but it became really windy a little later. So much so, that I had heard they were about 80 MPH winds blowing to the north, and about 3 trucks on the interstate were blown over (though how true that is still remains to be seen... you know how much "truth" there is to a story when it comes from a truck driver). The winds were pretty wicked... and being that we were in Kansas, there was no pun intended. The intensity of the winds - and the sand that accompanied them - formed such a dark haze that I couldn't even see the lights from the truck stop fuel pumps & building... and we were parked about 200' from the building itself.

We left this morning at about 1015 (me with a Starbucks in hand) to finish off this trip to Tulsa. We arrived here at the Flying J at 1830 when we topped off the fuel and found a place to park. Anybody who has been here before knows that this truck stop is usually packed by about 1600 on a Sunday, but since this is Memorial Day - and many customers (including ours) will be closed tomorrow - there were still a few spaces left.

After we had fueled, Dillard and I discussed whether we would stay here for the night, or head to the customer. Since (as I explained it to him) we will be getting a re-start on a logbooks later this week, there was really no need to get one now... so we chose to stay here tonight and head over tomorrow evening. I will be releasing Dillard (hopefully) Tuesday, so he can take his final evaluation, then get his own truck. I, on the other hand, will be heading home. As you could tell from yesterday's post, this time I'll be going home for less than pleasant circumstances.

I'm still in a little shock at my Father-in law's passing... plus I've not quite completely dealt with my Dad's passing a few years ago. It's odd how the death of a loved one affects us, where we begin to question our own mortality, even reflect upon our lives now. My wife, Tikvah, is holding up very well, so far. She told me she's trying to stay strong for her Mom. When I get home, though, I may be the one trying to stay strong for her. I fear that it may be harder than it seems, I may end up finally mourning the passing of my Dad as well as hers.

Please keep us all in prayer!