Getting Your Family Ready

In our last post we talked about getting you ready and what you should need to head out over the road well what about your family. Its real easy to get caught up in what you need to handle as you get ready to head out.  But it's important to make sure your home life is all ready too. Remember folks, life at home doesn't stop when you leave.  The families you leave behind still go on without you. So your going to need to talk about the bills. Who's going to pay them and how?  By phone, computer, or mail them in.  If you've done it all your spouse or significant other may not have a clue as to how you make it all work.  Prepare them because even if you plan to handle it all, you may not always have the time to get it all done.   You are about to leave a big gap in the daily routine that they have to adjust to so try to make it a little easier by making sure the house is in order and cleaned.   Then all they have to focus on is maintaining while your gone instead of full blown overhauls. We get to pick when we leave for orientation, so don't rush it unless you like ugly fights late at night while you drive or at inconvenient times.  They will happen.  Keep them happy at home and you will be happy on the road trust me. Last but not least prep your children for those of you that have them. There the one that take this hardest of all especially when they are little and don't understand why daddy or mommy has to go away. Spend extra time with them and talk to them about it.  You may find that it will help a lot more then you think in the long run. And don't forget to pack a photo of your family to keep with you on the road. These were hard lessons to learn while out there on the road so hopefully you will take this info and not repeat the mistakes of so many others out there including yours truly.