Sarah Maxwell and Marie Andree Lessard: July 2012

July 2012

Dear WEBSITE,

As I sit on the plane crossing from Utah to California on my trip back home to Australia, the landscape that was once so foreign to me is now known. Driving more than 1,000km across a state on fire has shown me that beauty comes in many forms. Millions of years of rock formation stand with such valor that no Dubai skyline can match these natural wonders. Red tints towering into deep blue skies will remain etched in my soul for years to come.

How can a place so magnificent have been unknown to me for all of my 34 years? This has me wondering what other wonders are out there awaiting my exploration...

While I was overseas, it was not only the rock formations that were shifting but life had deemed 4 new athletes I am directly connected to their ticket to the London Olympic Games! First it was my archers. The long qualification process culminated with the naming of the female and male representative for Australia. To witness the pressure, deep desire and horrendous fear bearing down on these archers; I was so proud of how they conducted themselves. It isn't often in life where your fate is decided by millimeters into a golden target! With all the tension of expectation riding on their young shoulders, they stepped up to a line and prepared to be judged with the best in the world. An ancient sport re-branded as "cool" in Hollywood circles, has nothing to do with the solitary hours these athletes put in to represent their country, their family and their friends at the highest level! There wasn't one of the archers who didn't face their own extraordinary fear and so those chosen for London 2012 were the ones who felt their fear and moved through it.

In that same vein, the love of my life did the same! In a whole different continent but laying pride on the line just the same, Natalie Cook & Tamsin Hinchley secured their ticket to the UK in dramatic fashion. It was the 2 minutes of straight tears following the last ball's winning sandstorm that confirmed what had to be true: these girls had lain themselves bare (literally) in order to live their dream!

There comes a time in the life of a relationship where the love is so unconditional that you are a witness to the journey of your mate and how you can best serve them is to walk beside them, holding their hand, if only they reach for it. I have been such an observer to the enormous courage and bravery it takes to do something that no other Australian woman has done, compete in 5 Olympic Games. Proud is not a powerful enough word for what I feel for my Nat; it can be likened more to loving reverence!

The amazing life moments that opened up in the month of June will shy in comparison to what lie ahead... All I know for sure is that July brings its own opportunities and possibilities. Will my Natalie carry the Australian Olympic flag into the Opening Ceremonies in lieu of her 5th representation at the Games? Will there be hardware around team Cook/Hinchley's necks? (As an intimate aside: Nat & coach Steve Anderson [who has been leading her charge for the past 16 years) have a special pact this time around - Nat will honor Steve with the Olympic medal around his neck (only Olympic athletes are adorned with medals at the Games and not coaches) & Nat will have the story to tell!] Will Australian archery make a name for itself on Lord's Cricket ground? What memorable races will we be privy to from nations that don't have the funds nor the experience yet have the heart of a lion?

I have to admit that I have often been intimidated by the unknown but more and more, I am coming to embrace it. I recall the first time I flew into Australia in 2001 with only a whim and a dream in tow yet an intense knowing infused me: that life would be forever changed for this experience! It was a questionable start when I settled into the left-hand-steering-wheeled car on my first day in Brisbane with a flurry of windshield wipers rather than signaling any turns! The transformations were astounding and I now can look back at representing my country of Canada for 9 years in beach volleyball, becoming an Australian resident in the process, marrying in 2008, and now running my passion-filled business "In The Game" out of a sunny Brisbane office!

From lorry cars to Olympic-ring clad bridges, London called and we are now answering... Tune in next month for my report from the Games where reality catches up with the wishes set forth today!