My Wife
Hello everyone, I want to do something a little different on my blog today. Most of my blogs are about something that I did or a report on how the Cascadia is performing. Today, I would like to blog about my wife of over twenty one years, Karen.
Lets start at the beginning when we first were dating and I was racing stock cars. Karen was always there supporting my racing and after we got married agreed to move to Charlotte NC. We didn’t know anyone here in NC , but I wanted to pursue a racing career in NASCAR. We ended up going broke during this endeavor.
About five years later, I decided to start our own trucking company and Karen was right there by my side once again. Karen was home with our son, Austin. He was just a toddler when I began the trucking business. At the time, we were living in a rental house in Charlotte. Our furniture was old and we laugh today about our coffee table. The table had a broken leg and would fall over if you bumped into it. As I remember back to that time, we only had one car which was a 88 Ford Crown Victoria. I sold my Chevy, one ton dually and cashed in my 401k to begin our trucking business. You see, we had big plans for our future. Karen was a valuable asset to me as she did all the sales and book work as I drove the truck. Her many years of prior “hotel sales” experience came in quite handy. We made many sacrifices during that time. As tough as things were, I could always count on Karen being by my side.
Once we were on our feet, we were able to upgade our cars and home. Karen was a big help in growing our business, which included five owner operator drivers. She scheduled loads, managed the books and continued to make sales calls. All this, while taking care of our son, Austin . When the opportunity presented itself, I took them both along in the truck, as we enjoyed spending time together.
Karen was already busy when the teachers at school explained that our son was above grade level in all subjects. After some research and exploration on the subject, we decided to home school our son. Homeschooling was new to both of us but we decided to give it a try. Austin is a very fast paced learner and needed to be challenged. Once again, Karen was there to step up to the plate and do whatever she could to give our son the best possible education. She set high expectations for Austin and he has proven to be an excellent student.
One thing I really appreciate is to come home and the yard work is done. Groceries are in the refrigerator and most of the house duties are completed. Karen has given us the gift of “quality time” on the weekends. My time at home is short and it means a lot to just hang loose and enjoy whatever we feel like doing as a family.
The reason I wanted to do this blog was to share my love and appreciation for a wife who has contributed to all my success. The years past haven’t always been easy, but it’s the journey that has made us stronger. I will forever be grateful for her love and dedication to me. I look forward to many more wonderful years together.
Henry
October 10, 2009 at 4:54 am
Henry Albert this is an awesome blog and an awesome tribute to the real unsung hero’s of all of our lives that are out here on the road. You have a awesome situation with someone you love at home taking care of one side of the partnership while you take care of what you need to do. Great job to you and Karen, Austin is the one to truly benefit from the cooperation you and Karen have and your long range thinking and goals.
Keep up the good work!