Following the Cloud

Maybe five months ago a friend shared a few of their own young person’s artworks with me, and within three seconds of drinking them in, I found myself saying, “heavenly..!”

Heavenly?

Yes. I had sat still for moments and recognised that solid sense of ‘God’s ideal’ in this young person’s artistry.

I have been chewing this over for the few months since. Did I mean that I thought the artwork was heavenly and that the young person was gifted by God as an artist? Perhaps. However, I have come to realise that the actual produced artwork was really not the point.

What I recognised ‘God all over’ was that this young person created with such depth of thought, that this young person takes time amidst their circumstances, that they find joy expressing their hopes and their grief; in how they see God in their lives when they too create.

So this season has been one of intentionally checking-in throughout our establishing new year of home education. I find myself looking for that beautiful ‘peace that passes all understanding’.

The question I ponder often is — ‘is this an on Earth as it is in heaven type of moment?’

These are the best pockets of our life to be moving further even into- I know it with every fibre of my being.

Notes on self-care (thus being able to care for them) to take away from Spain 2025?

*I found intermittent space for me to be alone with the competitor in our family amidst the massive amounts of demands.

*I got up when it was obviously time to be up in the quiet and before everybody else was awake. Journaling, in scripture, listening to music through my headphones, and answering some messages, I found space and gentleness.

*I spent one-on-one goofy and fulfilling time with the other fella, leaving Dad to do one ten hour day of the demands of training and teamness, without me.

* I arranged and enjoyed the view of pockets of spontaneity, that did and sometimes did not include me.

*I found an AirBNB thst ticks all of my boxes for straight after the comp.

*I sent them away for the day after the comp to ride ridiculous rides and rollercoasters. Graeme.

Over and out World Age Competions 2025!

This week’s Australian World Age Competition effort has been the fruit of the work of many, many coaches working boldly and (mostly) quietly across our nation.

Many would argue that our own of the 2025 young athletes has been working solidly toward this goal since July when he ‘caught the waft’ that his scores were probably high enough to be considered for Spain. A few would argue that his fervour kicked-in when we together watched the 2023 World Age comp held in Birmingham online.

Me? I cannot put words on when it became obvious this would become his life. For each of our fellas gymnastics journeys it has been about one intentional choice after another for a long, long time.

Perhaps these precious folk will never see this post and, well that is perfectly ok. Perhaps algorithms will make it possible for me to never have to have awkward conversations that reflect how we feel. Yes. That would be ideal at this point!

To the coach in 2018 who squeezed Jack into the next squad beside Isaac, even though he did not have the courage to work with a new coach, and was never comfortable more than three metres from one of us- thank you. You gave him the opportunity to shine as a tiny bumpkin in Artistic gymnastics before the digits on his hand would really matter.

To the coach in 2021 who gave the kid a go, teaching him so many things even on his tryout with you. You saw the mini-athlete, not the mainlander. For that we are forever grateful. We were so sorry when we figured out that you were not to be in Spain with this 2025 team.

To the lady coach on the Sunny Coast who would let us blow-through when we were travelling, always encouraging and always generous 🙂

To the several coaches from across QLD and other states who have slotted-into the big picture with encouragement and a few laughs, trusting Jack and his coach’s decisions.

To the Sydney-based coach who has spoken boldly into the coaching of our boy this year. Who stands calculating, strategising and hoping.

To the the team at home who each feed into who our fellas are becoming as gymnasts, putting up with Jack’s scamming the next skill, finding the delicate balance between ex*****on and his next adrenalin hit.

To Joel? To him there is still so much to say that we will probably not say for years, now. However we will go on the record as publicly declaring, thank you for seeing who our fella is, and who he is becoming. Thank you for your ‘more than skills outlook’, and how you provide ample opportunity here and there, for Jack’s development as an athlete, moving forward into the fullness of what is possible.

☺️That is enough words, now.

The morning of finals in Pamplona, Spain—

We are certainly finding that little ‘pockets’ of joy smile! We hit the road half an hour early and were the first family there, so play we have 🙂

Here they are! Ten of the eleven Tumblers in this age group, each just having represented their country?! Look at them- some looking down in sadness, some driven and not in the moment, some looking for their Mum or Dad; pretty much all are in disbelief that what just happened, happened. Not all.

We are headed for sleep now, after our pictured athlete qualified for Finals, tomorrow.

Now he hopes and sleeps.

Overnight we each experienced so many emotions. If you can name it, one of our family probably felt it. It was a night like no other I have experienced. Above all else? A ferocious sense of sadness was felt all around.

Something that probably should have gone well, simply did not. And, at that exact moment of disappointment, it had already going far and beyond better than we could have hoped.

It was pretty much nothing short of brutal.

Back to it he has gone. He trained and watched others on their journey today, now preparing for his absolute favourite event being competed tomorrow.

Every breathe is one of hope between now and then 🙂

Here we go! Day One has begun 🙂

Today I have been a tourist in Pamplona! The weather is apparently not at all typical for this time of year. It is supposed to be raining…raining…raining, yet it simply is not.

The athletes are training twice today, and lunching together. So today I am at a heavenly loose-end 🌻

We headed out of town, today.

We are now away from the sirens, the tacky souvenir stores, the tarot reader on the corner, the men sitting on the window sills watching the roadworks; the blatant sense of ergh. It was all pretty much revolting.

And, all of that on top of sleep-deprivation of five nights in a row? We are glad to reach our destination. And, it was good to cry twice!

Tonight we sleep, for tomorrow we shall feast (not die!) on actually attending the Senior World Championships. But that is not until after my body hopefully realises that there is nothing I actually need to do, tomorrow.

We are in Pamplona. We are delirious and we are filled with hope!

Are you keen for our Doha Hamad Airport pics of the lush orchard? Perhaps you are hoping to see a pic of our fella standing at the table with all of the bronze animals that features in the terminal? Yes. That would have been delightful to share.

Instead we have a picture of … well? What can I say? We have a picture of…a whole bunch of good old symbolism…just for something entirely new?!

This here picture represents the predicatble chaos of travel, sure. However, it more deeply encapsulates how:

* exhilarating it was to explore our flight stopover at leisure. Did you catch that word, ‘leisure’? Pause and enjoy the moment with me- I used the ‘l’ word!

How:

*worthwhile it felt to stay awake only after five hours of broken sleep, because it would pay off the next night.
*quirky it was, that out of a flight filled with hundreds passengers, we were somehow able to chat across the aisle with another Robertson family through the haze of movie-viewing and how many times the airline served so…much…food ..!
*grateful we were that getting through customs was actually really easy.
*satisfying it was to be able to buy the metro tickets without help from a local, to travel across town to our hotel.
*thrilling it was to plot out and put into place said plan, to actually cross town.
*joyful I am to have this kid who upon realising that we had ‘lost’ our phone, reached out and laughed the tears of exhaustion with me.
*stoked we were in the external processing chatter that revealed that all the thief has of value, is the phone itself and my driver’s licence. Boo hoo for them!
*chuffed we were to find a WiFi source within five minutes of the theft, to be able to lock the cards we were travelling with, and to realise that the cash we had with us was nowhere near that phone as it was taken.
*glad we are to be in a unit with blockout curtains and soundproof windows so that sleep without interruption of the roadworks downstairs is highly probable.
*tickled- pink we are that even though we could not say, ‘sour cream‘ in Spanish at the grocery store, the ‘almost nachos’ with apple juice and the best two glasses of red I think I have ever tasted, have gone down a treat.

We fell asleep at 8ish so very much thankful. Yes. We have lost our half a dozen lovely pictures, and this is the only that remains, though this last two or three days are emblazoned in our mutual long term memory, alright! We do not really need the photos to remind us how heartily massive this has all been.