Life on the road isn’t just about miles and deadlines. It’s about building a life in a very small space. Every morning, before the sun crested the horizon, I had a rhythm. I took the pups Dixie and Dolly out, washed up, checked the load, planned the route, and got rolling. That rhythm gave each day its shape. While some days you have lots of energy to get ready, other days you were so tired you didn’t want to get out of bed.
Food was just as important on that truck of mine. Every Sunday, during my thirty-four-hour reset, I turned my truck into a kitchen. I’d cook meat, prep vegetables, and bake bread in a bread maker on the counter, which I have provided the recipe below. Even making homemade applesauce in an electric skillet was doable for me on the truck, which I also provided recipe. This kitchen routine didn’t just nourish me; it transformed my health.
I lost more than a hundred and nine pounds without a gym or a hotel room, just planning, discipline, and lots of creativity. My boss let me take all the cabinets out of the truck, so I had enough room; I made myself a wooden table to cook on, and I also had an apartment-sized refrigerator on the truck. That helped me keep healthy food on the truck for weeks. I would weigh myself outside the truck every morning, wearing shorts and a tank top, even in 5-degree weather, just to hold myself accountable. People would see me and would praise me for being so dedicated.
When Covid made showers hard to find at truck stops, I improvised. I made a homemade shower for my truck. A tote became the base, a clear curtain for walls. I attached 2 curtain rods to the walls for the shower curtain, a small heater in a bucket for warm water, and a battery-powered shower head. When I was done taking a shower, I would take it all down, wipe out the tote, and store all the accessories in the tote. When I was done with the tote, I would put it up on the top bunk, which I used for storage. It worked so well that I started just taking showers on the truck and stayed out of the showers at the truck stop.
On days off, when I didn’t have time to take a shower, I would have a smaller tote and just use my warm water in my bucket and battery-operated shower head and just wash my hair in the smaller tote. That same resourcefulness solved countless other problems: storage hacks, cooking hacks, small repairs. You learn to rely on your hands and your head.
Trucking gave me a feeling of freedom that is hard to explain unless you’ve experienced life out on the open road. There was something about sitting behind the wheel of that 18-wheeler, watching the highway stretch out in front of me, and knowing that every day would bring something different. I never knew exactly what I might see, who I might meet, or what challenge I would have to figure out before the day was over.
It wasn’t always easy. There were days when I was exhausted, frustrated, lonely, or just ready to drive. There were long hours, bad weather, traffic, difficult places to get into, and times when finding somewhere to park that big truck was a challenge all by itself. Living in such a small space also meant learning to make do with what I had.
But trucking also made me feel strong and independent. I learned that I could handle situations I never thought I could handle. When a problem came up, I couldn’t always call someone and expect them to fix it for me. Sometimes I had to look at what I had available and figure it out myself. Every challenge I overcame gave me a little more confidence. Especially when the truck broke down, and I had to get out my tools to fix the small stuff.
There was also a peaceful side to trucking that I loved. There were miles when it was just me, my pups, the highway, and God. I had plenty of time to think, pray, and appreciate the world around me. I saw parts of this country that many people may never get the opportunity to see. Some of my favorite moments weren’t at famous destinations at all. They were ordinary moments when the sky suddenly lit up with a beautiful sunrise or sunset and reminded me to stop and appreciate where I was.
The road could wear me out, but it could also fill my heart. It taught me patience, determination, independence, and gratitude. Most of all, it taught me that I was capable of much more than I had ever given myself credit for.
Trucking wasn’t simply something I did for a living. For that season of my life, that truck was my transportation, my kitchen, my bedroom, and my home. The road became part of my story, and the lessons I learned there will stay with me long after the last mile.
Each day you are out on the road, you learn more about how to make life simpler when you are not near anything. For example, stores or places you can get a big truck into for parking. But the best part that I loved out on the road was the part that stitched all those routines together: the sunsets and sunrises. Thousands of them now live in my camera on my phone.
Out there on the asphalt, sky wide, horizon endless, I’d pull over or step down from the cab, watch the sun pour gold and crimson across the clouds, and whisper a prayer of thanks. However hard the day had been, those moments reminded me that God was with me every mile. I would post pictures of the things I see out there, and people would love to see it. They would tell me they felt like they were traveling with me out there.
One verse stayed close to my heart through it all. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13. If you ask me what the road taught me, it’s simple: Plan, adapt quickly, keep your hands busy and your heart steady. Notice the beauty around you because it’s everywhere. That’s not just trucking. That’s life. I love the direction. I might just end with one short takeaway line that ties it all together. The road didn’t just take me across America; it changed my life.
To all who would love to have my bread recipe for a bread maker, here it is.
Luscious White Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup milk, warmed
1 1/2 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in the bread machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Use the basic or white bread setting. Adjust the crust setting to “light”.
When baked, let the bread cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container.
To all that would like to have my homemade applesauce recipe, here it is.
Homemade Applesauce
8 peeled apples, diced
5 packets of Stevia or 3 tablespoons of regular sugar
3/4 cup of water
Directions
Cook on the stove till all the water disappears and the apples turn soft.
Really good to eat warm or cold. I put it in small plastic containers to store.
This was written by our contributing writer, Emily McCoy.
All images were provided by our writer, Emily McCoy.
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