When a Weekend Doesn’t Go the Way You Planned

Where to begin.

When we left California, Anthony left behind more than just a place—he left his people. He had a big fishing community, a group of friends who hustled together and built some pretty major events. There were always lots of people, lots of followers, lots of energy.

We moved to the Houston area for the fishing, but since the move, it just hasn’t been the same for him.

His boat broke down, and instead of paying for storage just to let it sit, he gave it away. I know that one hurt—a lot. Right now, we don’t have the space or the income for a new one, so that’s a 4–8 year goal for us.

This weekend has been on the calendar for months. He’s been so excited.

Yesterday, we showed up at the lake expecting a big turnout. Even though he didn’t put the event together himself, he tried to get people out there. But when it didn’t turn out how he hoped, he felt so defeated he didn’t even set up his booth.

I had been on the fence about staying overnight. I’m currently on call for a birth, and the lake is about an hour and a half from home, so I knew I could make it back if needed. I wasn’t sure I wanted to drive two separate cars.

But this year, we decided we would really support each other—and I knew I needed to be there for him.

I’ll be honest… when I saw the “screen enclosure” he booked for us, I was not thrilled. At first, I thought we were staying in a hotel, then I heard cabin… and then it turned out to be a screened room.

We had an ice chest with water and soda, some PB&J sandwiches, and I grabbed s’mores stuff since we always have that on hand with how often we use our fire pit.

No real plan for dinner, breakfast, or lunch the next day—and we were about 30 minutes from a Walmart.

So around lunchtime, we left and made a Walmart run. We grabbed towels to sleep on, used the little blankets and pillows we had packed, and I picked up some breakfast items for the morning. Then we found a BBQ spot for a late lunch.

After the event, the kids went fishing and swimming until the rain rolled in. Then we all hung out in the screened shelter and just laughed. I was ready to take a nap, but I think Anthony was still feeling defeated and just wanted to go home.

I tried to talk him into staying, but in the end, we left. Honestly, I think Charlotte was the only one really disappointed about that.

We’ll definitely go back—but next time, we’re getting an AC cabin. That’s a must.

This morning, we woke up early, and again, I wasn’t sure I was going. I didn’t want to make the drive again, the kids didn’t want to go back, and it had been raining there all morning.

But I got up, cleaned the whole downstairs, and decided I needed to be there for him. This event didn’t turn out the way he wanted, and I wanted him to have space to vent.

Funny enough… I think I did most of the venting.

The fish at this lake aren’t huge, and there are rules—if they’re between 16–18 (sometimes 19) inches, they have to be thrown back. So they had a “biggest fish” award and a “smallest fish” award, which I actually thought was pretty funny.

It was raining, so I didn’t bring out my camera, but I did record some of it on my handheld recorder.

And I posted a few videos on my Instagram.

Not the weekend we expected—but still one we’ll remember.