Back West

9am. We've made our delivery in New Castle, but we're still sitting at the consignee's. A flatbed tried to maneuver a turn onto this narrow street, but got hung up on the snowbank to his inside. The consignee sent out their bobcat to clear some snow away from his rig, but he's still trying to rock his way out. No luck so far.

We took this time to wash up and change clothes, brush teeth and hair, etc. Now all we need is more hot coffee and breakfast.

I had an "aww" moment yesterday. Since I met Hoss, he has opened and closed the car door for me. Every time, whether I'm driving or riding. I must admit, it took me MONTHS to get used to it. It struck me as unnecessary, it required me to change, it sometimes made me impatient, but I realized this was an important gesture to him so I sucked it up and accepted it. It's a gesture he hasn't transferred to the truck - until yesterday. We stopped at a rest area for a bathroom break, and he walked me back to the passenger seat, waited for me to settle in, then carefully closed the door for me. Hoss has never played the gender games with me, has never stopped me or tried to dissuade me from doing "man tasks", has never doubted that I can, and have, lived independently and self-reliantly without a man in my life. He knows that I CHOOSE to have him in my life, rather than need him. Yet I'm very aware of his need to take care of me, to protect me, to support me. I welcome and appreciate these acts of manly caretaking because it's his way of showing how much he loves me, not that I'm weak or dependent. And by the same token, he's not threatened when I get out the tools and fix the toilet or deal with the car mechanic myself. It's a marriage of mutual respect and admiration, and I am so very lucky.

4:15pm. I got Hoss to a clinic this morning and he was given a month's supply of BP meds to take until he can get home to his regular doc for monitoring and more treatment. It's still very high. I'm worried.

We took a load from Franklin, PA to Paris, TN. It snowed throughout PA, and began to taper off in Ohio. I took the night shift, as I usually do. The last 20 miles were a 1 1/2 lane country road with the trajectory of a satanic rollercoaster. I was exhausted and loopy, but we made it. Wish I'd taken a few pics of the road signs warning of upcoming curves; they were classic. We parked at a Walmart and got a few hours of sleep.