While being a Mom in the trucking industry is not an easy choice – there are many that have made it work both on and off the road.  RoadPro recently interviewed a few women who are involved in trucking and have made it work for them and their families.  Although not always easy it can be done with the right attitude, resources and support.

Desiree Wood, a driver who is also president of Real Women in Trucking, has a busy life and career. Her children were in their 20’s when she first headed out on the road, but she still found it challenging to help them as they started their own lives and families. There was a point in her career where she didn’t see them for three years since her route would not take her to where they lived. Over the years she has missed the birth of grandchildren and various milestones in both her children and grandchildren’s lives. It was very difficult to make time to see her family as she worked hard to make ends meet. She is now an owner-operator which makes it a bit easier to plan her routes around the kids and grandkids. There is often not a lot of time, but she tries, and her grandchildren think it is cool that Gramma is a truck driver.

We also reached out to Carolyn O’Byrne who is the wife of truck driver Kelly O’Byrne. We asked her if she feels like a single mom while Kelly is on the road. She said she often tells people it is more like being a single wife as when Kelly is home he is mentally exhausted and usually just wants to chill out. So very often she ends up doing, what she calls the woman's and the man's chores around the house. But she doesn’t mind as she would rather do her husbands chores as they are typically outside and that is where she prefers to be. She also said that with him gone she is many times the bad guy as she sets the rules, while he is like Santa Clause, but somehow it works. Her children thank her repeatedly for being such a great mom so what more can she ask for. She claims to be as appreciated as much as could be expected but does think that there is no way that Kelly could ever know just what and how much that she must do and doesn’t think that the kids will truly appreciate what she has done until they are older and have a family of their own. Her key to making it work while he is on the road is to make sure to keep constructive communication going at all times, not only with him but also between her and her children. We asked her what the one thing was she wished her kids would do for her and her answer was quite simple – to always strive to improve themselves and love her more every day!

Idella Hansen is known to many other drivers as Grandma but her pride and joy is not only her own children but her grandchildren as well. She started her driving career when her kids were small and, at that time, worked locally. She sometimes was gone for the entire week, but her husband was home with the kids. She always made it a point when she got home, no matter how tired, to take her kids as well as the neighborhood kids somewhere on the weekends to have some fun. Whether it be skating or going to the river, she made sure to spend quality time with them.  She says she was fortunate to have family there to support her and is most proud that her children were raised to be independent and self-sufficient. She feels that they were taught responsibility at an early age and that has lead them to be successful adults. If you ask her daughter, Rhonda, she would agree. She said that her mom was known as the coolest Mom because of the outings she would arrange for her and her siblings as well as the neighborhood kids. When Rhonda’s son decided to become a truck driver as well, she was all for it and Idella could not be prouder of not only her kids but her grandchildren as well.

Being a Mom in trucking is not easy but these three women found a way to make it work and to raise some amazing children.