Off season? I’m not so sure

After attending a speaking event with Randy last night and hearing several people comment how much they have enjoyed reading my past blogs, I was reminded that it was past due for another one.  You might wonder, why has Robin not written in a while?  It is the off season for the fishing industry.  I began thinking that most people probably think that now that the fishing tournament season is over until the Classic, that most of the fishing guys and their families are taking a breather and relaxing some.  I don’t speak for everyone in this blog, but I have a feeling that this is not quite the case for many of our fellow fishing families.  I thought this might be a fun blog to write so that others can get a glimpse into our lives when not fishing!

So, to write this blog I got my old fashioned calendar that we handwrite all appointments on.  It’s the way we have operated from the beginning 22 years ago and we still find it is the easiest way to operate today.  I know I should get with the current technology, but I can’t seem to love the iPhone calendar and Randy prefers seeing it written on a large, real calendar. 

After the AOY Championship, we drove home from Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the fun began! When you travel in a camper and the season ends, you must unload all the belongings in the camper into the house so that we can put it in storage.  It’s like moving belongings from another house into your current house! And, because we live in a neighborhood with strict guidelines, there is a 24 hour time limit on having a camper parked in the driveway.  We didn’t quite meet the deadline on such a huge undertaking as this, but we tried our best.  Now mind you, school doesn’t stop for the boys.  As you know we homeschool, and that comes first before anything else.  So, for 3 days we unpacked and cleaned the camper, took it to storage, washed and put away clothes and packed for a much-needed vacation to the beach.  Randy went to the Toyota Owners tournament at Kentucky Lake while I drove with the boys to the beach and got settled in.  He then joined us the next day for a week of fun playing at the beach and eating lots of seafood! “FloraBama” was an awesome place to visit and we recharged our batteries before the real craziness began in October!

October began with appointments.  When you are gone for over half the year, dentist, doctor, hair, and tax appointments are the first things to schedule.  The boys also began sports training 3 days a week with our good friends at Performance Fitness and Impact Sports Training.  This is their designated PE for school and it is also focused muscle training for basketball players since they play this sport during our time at home. 

For Randy the months of October and November, it turned out to be a great group of events that have all been wonderful to be a part of.  Here is the list of events he participated in:

  • A day of fishing with the residents of Independence Place of Alabama
  • Filming Trip Flip Show for the Travel Channel at Ray Scott’s Lake
  • Commercial filming for King’s Home event
  • Bass Brawl filming in Tennessee
  • Wild Game dinner and church 2 day event in Georgia
  • King’s Home Golf tournament
  • TBN show filming in Tennessee
  • Local car dealer Commercial shoot
  • 5 Radio Shows
  • Seminar and Meet and Greet in FL
  • Live Skype with Army Bass Anglers and Livingston
  • Church speaking event in Pinson, AL
  • Basketball Coaching/Coordination

Along with the above list of events, he has also been non stop on the phone working on the upcoming Boat Giveaway for the King’s Home event taking place Nov. 15.  He also has been planning his annual Kid’s Fishing Rodeo for the event as well.  So much work goes into this event each year, but the amount of time and work is all worth it when we are blessed with the honor of teaching these kids to fish at the rodeo and knowing that lives are being changed because of the Boat Giveaway!  My hope is that my boys see the difference helping others makes in so many peoples’ lives and that it becomes a “part of them” to help others as they grow older.  We use the event as community service days for the boys and they love being a part of it!

My days are filled with the following activities:

  • -Hmeschooling (Algebra is a booger the 2nd time around!)
  • Field trips for school
  • 5K and running
  • Taxes- I was not made to work with numbers and I feel sorry for my accountant because he has to compensate for my lack!
  • Scheduling for Randy- I have been scheduling for Randy for 22 years now, and I think I have only overbooked him twice…both of which have been this year!
  • Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)-Posting together with Randy, fielding questions and keeping up with every comment made.
  • Skincare Business (including an upcoming event)-You are probably wondering, why would Robin want to add this to her busy life? It is one of my many jobs I love working and is so much fun! #changingskin #changinglives
  • Answering emails- I try my best to keep up with this and I always cringe when someone starts their sentence saying “I sent you an email”.  My response is always, “I hope I answered it!”
  • Reservations
  • Almost daily trips to the post office for my skincare business and autograph requests
  • Home projects- These projects pile up when we are gone most of the year!
  • Basketball team mom
  • Housecleaning- This tends to fall behind so if you show up at my house, I am asking now to please don’t look at the messiness!
  • Cooking- It feels like I forgot how to do this, even though I really love to cook.  Our days seem to fly by and before we know it, the boys are saying they are hungry and it is 7:00! Needless to say, there has been a little extra eating out. 
  • I also attend about half of the events that Randy speaks at if they are within driving distance. We both think it is important for Team Howell to be together for as much as possible and within reason. 

As you can see, life for the Howells is crazy busy! The above lists looks fairly organized, but most days we look like “chickens with our heads cut off” rushing here and there from one thing to the next.  However, at the end of the day when we are completely exhausted, we are also both filled with gratitude for the busy life that we have and the opportunity God has given us to do this as a family.   I love the verse, “To whom much is given, much is required.” Luke 12:48  We hope to live out this verse in everything we do and try to do it all with a high degree of excellence! Remember, SMILE, it can change the world around you.