Riding Shotgun — No. 05 Why Honey Is the Chief Morale Officer and I'm Just the Driver

The title on her Ghost page is official.

Chief Morale Officer.

I gave her this title because it's the most accurate description of what she does.

And because she deserved a title.

And because the alternative — pet, companion, dog — undersells her contribution to this operation significantly.

What Morale Actually Is

Morale is not happiness.

I want to be clear about that.

Morale is the thing that keeps you going when the day is hard.

The thing that makes the next mile feel possible when the last hundred have been grinding.

The thing that reminds you — without saying a word — that you are not alone in this cab.

Honey delivers that.

Consistently. Without needing to be asked. Without missing a shift.

That is a job.

She does it.

What She Specifically Does for My Mental Health

She interrupts the spiral.

Long drives alone leave a lot of room for your mind to go places that aren't helpful.

The replaying. The catastrophizing. The quiet accumulation of worry.

Honey interrupts it.

Not with wisdom.

With presence.

She nudges. She repositions herself. She makes a sound that means she has noticed I have been somewhere else for too long.

And I come back.

To the cab. To the road. To right now.

That is not a small thing at mile 400.

That is, some days, everything.

The Mandatory Rest Stop Effect

Before Honey, I would push through rest stops.

I know the research on breaks.

I know they improve alertness and decision-making.

I also know that I am very good at telling myself I don't need one yet.

Honey has eliminated this option.

She needs out.

Regularly.

On a schedule that does not negotiate.

Which means I stop.

I get out.

I move my body.

I breathe air that isn't cab air.

And then I get back in the truck and I drive better.

She has been enforcing a break schedule I would never have maintained on my own.

For years.

Without ever knowing that's what she was doing.

At the End of the Day

Here is what I know after years of doing this with her:

The cab is better with Honey in it.

Not more convenient.

Not simpler.

Better.

She makes the long days shorter and the hard days softer.

She makes the solitude feel like companionship.

She makes this truck feel like home.

I'm the one with the CDL.

I'm the one with the logbook.

I'm the one who technically runs this operation.

But she's the one keeping us both in good enough shape to do it.

Chief Morale Officer.

Earned.

Every mile.

One Safe Mile  —  Renae Savage

one-safe-mile.com