After 20 years as a truck driver, I thought I’d seen it all on those long, empty highways.
But I never imagined that picking up a hitchhiker would lead to a tearful reunion, a viral thank you, and the end of my days on the road.
I’ve been a truck driver for years. Being a woman in this profession isn’t common, but I chose this path, knowing the challenges it would bring.
Life has a way of pushing you down roads you never expected to travel. For me, that road opened up when my husband walked out on me and our four-year-old twins, Gia and Vinnie.
My dad drove trucks until he was 55. I grew up watching him leave for days at a time, always coming back with stories from his routes. And despite what most believe, this job comes with a nice enough salary. It kept food on the table while I was growing up.
So, when I needed to support my kids alone, I knew this would be the best option. I got my commercial license and started driving. The company was even better than my dad’s because it included insurance and other benefits.
The downside was that it put me on the road for weeks at a time. I was lucky that my mother stepped up to care for my kids while I was away, but I missed too much. Many birthday parties were planned around my schedule.
Other things couldn’t be moved, like school plays. In many cases, I was left to watch shaky video recordings of my kids’ milestones. But this paid the bills, and they never went hungry. In fact, they had even more than I did.
Unfortunately, they’re now adults and out of the house. They still call, and they’re grateful, but my mother was more of a mother to them than I was. And the guilt of missing their childhood still rides shotgun with me most nights.
But everything changed on a particularly gray evening on my way through a quiet stretch of highway.
I saw a boy, maybe 16, standing by the roadside. His clothes were wrinkled. He looked exhausted, but there was something else in his eyes like he didn’t know where to go.
I slowed down and pulled over. My company’s policy strictly forbade me from picking up hitchhikers, but something told me I should.
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