Slow Mother Blog (July)
we found the snow! |
We’ve been travelling -
moving from our home to visit my brother and his family in Canberra, experience
the big city of Sydney, as well as to Coffs Harbour for surfing.
Pacha’s legs
led us on this journey – her long distance running qualified her for the
state cross-country race held in Sydney on the 20th July. We were determined not to feel too stressed about the race,
with the suspicion that at this level of competition a lot of training (which
we didn’t do) would be needed to do well. Still, Pacha’s pulse was racing as
she took off in the mob of 80 other skinny-legged girls. She came 57th.
Humbling enough to understand the commitment and dedication (and sometimes pain!)
required to become a top athlete. Yani watched on, full of pride and with the
loudest voice screaming ‘go Pacha!!’ as she determinedly jogged past.
After the competition we
had to drive through the centre of Sydney city’s traffic to find our way to my
friend’s house. Pacha was my navigator using my phone to follow the map – she
was amazing. Here I was; stressed about whether the phone would have enough
battery power to last us all the way to our destination, worried about the
cars, busses and trucks filling 4 lanes - it felt more frightening to me than
being caught in a rip in the ocean - I panicked as it seemed that we had taken
the wrong turn – snapping at Yani as he asked some silly questions and
demanding that Pacha find the right way NOW!!! It was embarrassing to feel so
out of control – but amazingly Pacha held it together and found our way. I
think she deserved a gold medal for that!
We made the most of
the travelling opportunity - taking a week off school to do things like play
with cousins, experience the snow, visit museums and art galleries and connect
with friends and family who we haven’t seen for a while and may not see till
after our ‘gap’ year slow earth journey starting in November.
The biggest lesson
from our trip was realising that while natural talent is important – commitment,
dedication and a kind of obsession is needed to really excel in something like
a sport (or anything really...). We need to choose carefully what it is to give our
time and energy to. In the meantime, our family loves doing what give us and
others joy more than anything else…so we’ll keep singing, dancing, surfing and
practising caring for the Earth…
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