Put Your Foot in It!!!

Put Your Foot in It!!

Every place I’ve ever lived before moving to Oceanside, CA has been flat. My childhood home in Artesia, CA was located in what was historically known as Dairy Valley. Mostly flat. After Scott and I got married, we moved to Tulare, CA situated in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. Extremely flat. I’m guessing one of the flattest parts of California. The highest point in town (besides the water tower) was the freeway overpass. Not until I moved to beautiful, hilly San Diego county did I understand the importance of knowing how to drive up a steep hill.

My dad has been a truck driver as long as I can remember. During my school years, he drove long haul. For thirteen continuous years, he drove his conventional Peterbilt from California to Minnesota and back again. I will never forget one trip I went along with him and my younger brother. It was the summer I was fifteen years old. We were driving through the lonely parts of Wyoming when my dad suddenly announced that it was my turn to drive. I thought he was joking. Yeah! Funny dad!! But he was serious. He knew that I would be learning to drive a car soon and he thought it was important for me to know what the road looked like from the perspective of a truck driver. Somehow through my protesting, my dad managed to plainly lift me out of shotgun and placed me in the driver’s seat. I was now the driver of an 18 wheeler with 400 horsepower and thirteen gears, hauling over 45,000 pounds of produce in a 42 foot long trailer. To say I was a little nervous was an understatement.

This is the actual truck that I drove!!

If you’ve never been behind the wheel of a big truck, let me tell you a little secret… It’s terrifying. Especially if you’ve never even driven a car before. Not only do you feel the sway of the trailer behind you, but you cannot see the lines in front of you. I was panicked. How do you know if you are in the actual lane?! Or if you are accidentally swerving into your neighbor’s lane? Or driving off the road completely?! Just look down and you should be able to see the white line next to you through the window, was my dad’s reply. But how am I supposed to look next to me to see if I’m driving straight?! Shouldn’t I be looking straight ahead?! I had a death grip on the wheel. I drove for a few miles. The highway we had been driving on up to this point had been completely flat. There had been very few other vehicles on the road. I was just beginning to get used to the feeling of being in control of this massive machine and then it came. A hill. Not just a beautiful, lonely hill. No. This hill had another truck on it. And at the speed we were traveling, we were coming up behind him quickly. I let my foot off the pedal slightly to slow down. What are you doing, my dad asked? Ummm… slowing down. There’s another truck up ahead. We’re going to pass him, dad said. But it’s up a hill, I protested. And I don’t know if I’m actually in the lane and I have no idea how to change lanes with 45,000 pounds of fresh fruit behind me and I’d feel much safer staying in the lane I’m already in. 

Now I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie Smoky and the Bandit, but maybe you’ve heard the theme song “East Bound and Down”. There’s a line in the song that says… “We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.” This literally is a long haul driver’s mantra. There is no time to slow down and wait for other trucks. We have a deadline to meet. Apparently people in Minnesota need their produce. I needed to pass this truck while driving up a hill. Can I remind you that I was only 15 years old and the only thing I had ever driven previous to this was my cousin’s three-wheeled Honda ATV?! My dad instructed me to put on my blinker and glance into my mirror to look for any oncoming cars. Thankfully the road behind me was completely empty. I began to change lanes. Up to this point all I had really done is hold onto the wheel, step on the pedal and drive straight ahead. Now all of the sudden there was a 42 foot trailer swaying behind me as I moved the Peterbilt from one lane to the next. I felt pretty proud of myself for not driving off the side of the road when all of the sudden my dad commented, Put your foot in it!! What?! Put my foot where? Step on it, he said. You need to pass this truck!! But we are going up a hill, I said. And you can pass this guy if you put your foot down on the pedal and go!!! And sure enough. I mashed down on the throttle and that old Cummins engine roared. I was passing another truck. Up a hill. While pulling a trailer filled with 45,000 pounds of fruit. And I have to say, it felt pretty awesome.

These days, as I drive through the hills of North County, I often find myself “encouraging” other motorists to “put your foot in it!”. It’s amazing what can happen to a vehicle when we give it a little extra fuel to get it moving.

As I finish up this second nine-week session of school, I am literally half-way up my teaching credential hill. I have two more nine-week sessions of classes to complete before the state of California will deem me competent enough to instruct a group of fifteen year-olds. And I can honestly admit that I am tired. I have a huge assignment due next week Monday and I simply cannot wrap my brain around it. I have all of the main parts, but I’m having trouble pulling it all together. I feel like I’m up on the hill, slowing down, letting other vehicles pass me by. But then I keep hearing my dad’s voice, Put your foot in it! Change lanes and go around the thing that is slowing you down. You’ve got this!!! You have a deadline you need to keep. Keep on, keepin’ on!!!

There are a couple of verses from Isaiah chapter 43 that bring me significant comfort when I’m feeling overwhelmed:

But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.

(And when you have a case study to write,

I will keep you from pulling your hair out.

And when you have a credential hill to climb,

I will cheer you on!)
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Italicized words are my emphasis

Now it’s time for me to suck it up, smash down on the throttle, and “put my foot in it”. I’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. With God’s help (and your prayers!), I’m going to charge this hill. See you on the flip side!! 10-4!! ;)

Here are a couple of pictures of me getting ready for my big driving debut... :)