You never quite know what kind of journey life is going to take you on
This photo was taken in 2017 at the Canoe Racing World Champs, Racice, Czechia. My husband and daughter were stealing a few moments together before he had to run back to work. Competition days are pretty busy for him.
I distinctly remember the effect the first Kiwi race had on our daughter. She cried. Not because she cared much about the outcome at that age. But because I was cheering loudly along with the other Kiwis around me and it was all a bit overwhelming for her. "Why do you have to yell Mummy?" "Can you stop yelling now?"
Prior to this day, and following it, there have been many more tears.
Tears of frustration as I adjusted to motherhood at home alone whilst my husband traveled internationally with both summer and winter Olympics teams. Tears as I traveled with him, a baby/toddler in tow. Tears as we said another farewell to Daddy and adjusted to life just the two of us for a few weeks. Tears of joy and sadness as our athletes won and lost races along the way. Tears when the Tokyo Olympics were canceled and my dreams of taking our daughter to support Daddy in his biggest moments of his career floated away.
But oh my goodness there have been so many smiles too. To compete at the top level athletes need some form of a growth mindset (call it what you will). There is no way you can sustain high performance without being able to reflect, learn, and change along the way. And for us as a family, and each of us as individuals, the journey we have taken over the past 11 years has allowed growth in rich abundance.
The sense of satisfaction that gives me is worth more than all the gold medals in the world.
So, it is with that sense of satisfaction and pride that I am happy to share that myself and our daughter are heading to Paris. We will sit in the stands as our epically talented team of canoe sprinters make history and my husband works quietly alongside them on the sidelines.
I will smile. I will cry. I will be there
~ Laura
