Howdy and welcome to my blog. I'm a pipeliners wife, a traveling gypsy, a wife, a homemaker, the laundry lady, the cook, the errand runner, the maid, the mother to an English bulldog; Pipeliner. I am Heather, married to Harold who is a 798 pipeline welder. We love traveling; it's in our blood and it's what we do. Having a life and planning things is pretty much obsolete..not going to happen. I planned a vacation once, it didn't happen and I haven't planned one since. Family gets mad because you didn't come here and you didn't get to go there and our family doesn't quite understand why we do it. Although when they know you haven't worked in a year and a half and 6 months ago you landed a job and paid off your truck and 5th wheel....they are kind of dumbfounded. I don't really blame them. For people who have never pipelined they just don't understand. Pipeliners are thee last of the living gypsies. We travel from state to state, town to town with our homes attached to our trucks and find the local RV park and set up camp, stay awhile, then head out!
It's an exciting life, never knowing where you are going to go next is part of the rush. I am only 23 years old and have been to places I only dreamed about. I would have never imagined I would have been where I have gone being this young. I have been to 30 states in the 4 years I have been traveling with my husband. It is amazing at the different things that you get to see on the road and it's just part of the job. We have no kids, just our English bulldog, Pipeliner. I meet the most amazing friends while traveling. 90% of them I see once a year every year in April in Tulsa at the 798 Steward School...all roads lead us 798'ers back to Tulsa in the spring. I love getting to see everyone again! It's like a family reunion and a wonderful party!
I am sure people would like to know what I do everyday in a trailer while my hubby is at work...well I do whatever I want too! HA! That's funny...I make breakfast and coffee and pack his lunch, then it's a little down time to read off my Nook. Start laundry asap, clean the trailer, walk pipeliner, go tan, workout, starch Harold's clothes, run errands, go to grocery store, pay bills, visit friends, surf the web, try a new interesting meal my husband most likely wont like because he's a meat and potato kind of guy...and yup that's about it. However the gals and I usually get together once a week and have a ladies luncheon and gab a bit. We take turns driving to towns to go shopping, sight seeing, and taking turns dropping each other off at the mechanic shop. We order pizza and beer and watch scary movies...try out a new hobby...think about inventing something miraculous but all in all we just have a good time!
Some wives have kiddos and they usually home school them or put them in school everywhere they go. I'm for the homeschooling. Most moms plan educational field trips, involved them in activities to interact with other kids, but trust me there are plenty of kids on the pipeline. Some wives or girlfriends work with their husbands as helpers (been there, not going back) and some find other work while they are in a town, some are traveling medical professionals and travel with that or take PRN positions..some just hang out and get jobs doing peoples laundry, running errands, and cleaning their trailers for them so the guys just have to work and not worry about the rest of that stuff.
Pipeliners are like family. It doesn't matter where you came from...what local you are with...as long as you're union you're family and we like to keep it that way! God bless America and God bless the Unions!
