Another day in paradise

If you’ve never watched a rowing race, never been involved in a rowing community, never watched a team of young men pull together in the rowing crew, you may not understand the beauty of their co-ordination, the passion they have for their crew and the pride as a parent. you feel when you watch your boy participate in the final race of a long season.

3 mornings a week, Josh gets up at 4.30am to row on the river to train for this day.

They train at nights, they compete every weekend and they keep this up for half the year.

And this weekend is the culmination of all their effort.

And it’ll last less than 2.00mins.

To watch the sheer power and energy of 8 young guys working as a single unit - is the closest you’ll get to boxing without the blood.

And as lead stroke, it’s Josh’s job to pull them all together.

So tomorrow, Tee and I fly to Brisbane to watch the final and support our boy.

And I’m shitting myself.

I wish I was in the boat with him.

I wish I could shout loud enough over the 5000 other parents so he could hear me barracking for him.

Instead, we’ll stand at the side, with our hearts in our mouth and a sickness in our stomach and watch through shaded eyes, just praying that he does well and they do themselves proud.

I found this and sent it to him today.

Have a look and hopefully you’ll get a sense of how we feel as parents.

I don’t even care if they win, I’m just so proud that he’s stuck in at a sport that is physically and emotionally draining and, built fantastic friendships.

He just wants to win.

So when the goosebumps go down, think of our wee boy sitting out in the water before the gun goes and imagine how he must feel.

They haven’t lost a race this season.

Gulp.