Riley Almost Home

After a reasonably successful Pan Am Games (8th on platform, 5th in synchro) I've been having a lovely text message conversation with my boy from the Maple Leaf Lounge in the Montreal airport. He's picked up the new Harry Potter and is already 200 pages in. Thirsty to read was his comment. Cool.
Anyone who thinks the life of an athlete is glamorous may want to re-think. The team actually left Rio yesterday and has been flying non-stop with two more legs still to go. Reports from many athletes and coaches indicate that this was a poor games from the athletes perspective. Really lousy food (and not just reported by my picky boy) must have some affect on performance. No activity in the "village" leads to boredom and no effort to get the athletes to see other events is just a shame. I'm again very proud of Riley, this time for his results (highest international score in both events in inclement conditions to boot) but more so for how he handled the less than ideal conditions. He told me he was bored and the food was bad but it was just a matter of fact, and not a complaint with the expectation that someone would do something. I think my boy is growing up.

Riley in Rio

You'll recall the photo of Riley and his two suitcases ... After Montreal, one suitcase was sent back home with his buddy Fraser because as part of the Pan Am Games, all team members were to receive complete outfitting and another suitcase! Doubt this stuff will be coming home with him ... what do you think?

Another First for Riley

Another tremendously proud mom moment last week when Riley won his first Senior National Platform title in Montreal. I think I was most thrilled with his never give up attitude in the final when he was second going into the last dive. I knew he could do it and wasn't nervous at all watching the live video feed. Riley has done such a great job of preparing himself for every scenario that I knew he knew exactly how many points he needed to win - and he did.
This time his friend and mentor Alexandre Despatie was not competing against him but cheering him on from Miami. I'm sure Alex was almost as proud as I was as he has taken his role as big brother and guide seriously. I'm also looking forward to the day that Riley takes over the crown for real and I think Alex does too.

http://diving.ca/english/html/news/2007/jr7.htm

And he's off, again ...

After a week at home, Sunday morning Riley left again for two more adventures. First off to Montreal where he will compete in the Junior and Senior National Championships in Montreal. From there he travels on the 18th to Rio de Janerio and the Pan American Games.

Getting Riley ready for any trip is a bit of a chore. First off, probably like most teenage boys, at any given time its difficult to find the floor of his room due to piles of clothes scattered about. And of course, all those clothes have to washed and ready to be packed because he needs every single piece! Five loads later we had piles of freshly laundered clothes ready to be reviewed. I of course thought there would be some editing involved. Not so, the pile disappeared into not one but two suitcases. Added to that was a PS2 system for Jose, Riley's Cuban friend (they can't get them in Cuba of course), 300+ DVDs (how many movies can you watch???), a computer and various odds and ends including hair products (he uses more than I do!).


A friend commented when looking at this picture - how many bathing suits does he need??? The funniest thing is, when he arrives in Rio, he will receive another suitcase and backpack full of Team Canada gear. Oh boy ...

Happy Canada Day ... and ... Simon Still Says

Day two of Riley's commitment to HBC was to participate in the HBC Run For Athletes on Canada Day. We figured that his hourly rate when down from one thousand an hour to five hundred as we had another five hour stint ahead of us. Up at 6:45, we were down at the start line at 7:30 helping the 500 runners warm up. Well actually Riley and several other Olympic athletes were, I was on the sidelines taking pictures.

One of the participating athletes was Riley's mentor and friend Olympic Gold Medalist Simon Whitfield. It was lovely to see Simon again - he did a double take when he saw Riley - they first started doing promotional appearances together when Riley was about eight. I took a picture of the two of them posing the same way they did seven years ago!

A special guest at the run was new grandma and a fellow "mom" Linda Whitfield. It was nice to spend time with her and it was easy to understand why Simon is the amazingly thoughtful man he is. I told Linda the story of Simon giving Riley his gold medal to take home for the weekend and she wasn't surprised. Well done Mrs W - your boy continues to inspire.

I spent the whole morning with Riley as he went from one event to another, warm up, awarding medals, running in the kids race with some of the kids and finally, speaking to the crowd on the "big stage" representing all the athletes. That was actually Simon's job but he designated it to Riley!

It was a really cool day as Riley seemed not to mind having his mom to hang with - we even took a break and drove over to our new condo (only three more weeks until we move) and marvelled at how nice it will be. It was another good day as Riley's mom.

One Thousand Dollars Per Hour ...

Riley is one of two hundred Olympic hopeful athletes across Canada who are sponsored by The Bay. In order to receive $5,000 each athlete must participate in a community service day in a HBC store. Today was Riley's day and his store was Nanaimo! A whole day with Riley and five hours of it in a shopping mall - can it get better than that?

The drive up was uneventful, lots of traffic, some decent conversation and some questionable music as of course Riley was in charge of the tunes. We were greeted by some nice people at The Bay and shown where Riley would sit, sign autographs and sell cupcakes! As it was Saturday of the July 1st long weekend and the weather was pretty good, the store was pretty quiet and early on Riley gave me the "how am I going to sit here for 5 hours look". Carol our host was very nice and was helpful in drawing people to the table to chat with Riley and get an autographed card. I hung around a bit and then took advantage of having to be in a mall and went shopping.

When I came back, Riley had been joined by two delightful little girls who were the store duty manager's daughters. They sure helped to pass the time as it was quite painful to sit and look interested as people passed by. Riley was soundly beaten in tic-tac-toe by the older one, much to her delight. As we were finally packing up to leave after a good number of autographs and $200 worth of cupcake sales, the duty manager told me what a personable and charming young man my son was - what a nice thing to hear!

Two hours later (with some much more questionable music purchased at the mall during our lunch break), we were back home again. A great day spent with Riley - not his first choice to spend a Saturday but he was a good sport and one I will remember for some time.

He's Back!!!

After three long weeks and a very large suitcase of dirty laundry later, Riley is now home. Although it really is only for a few days (off to Montreal and Rio de Janerio on July 8th), I have decided that its all about quality of time spent and not quantity.

As this blog is meant to share my thoughts of what its like being Riley's mom, I must first report on how Riley went to great lengths at the end of his trip to make sure that I still felt purposeful in his life.

First sign that a fifteen year old, no matter how worldly, is going to have some trouble - frantic cell phone call from Berlin Airport - Mom - "I left my passport in my hotel room in Rostock". ( you need to know Rostock is a 2.5 hour bus ride - good news is that he did get himself to Berlin in time for his original 6:45 flight - caught a ride with the Cubans - resourceful kid). While he tried to figure out how to get his passport to the airport, I started researching alternative flights to Frankfurt that would still get him to connect with his Frankfurt/Montreal leg. After several cell phone calls later, he was able to get a hold of the hotel and arrange for the Canadian team (they left for a Berlin flight leaving at 9:40am) to bring the passport with them. I booked him a 1 way ticket on Lufthansa (Air Berlin had no feasible options) to the tune of $450! I did it on-line and used his credit card (good thing there is fine print) so he could claim it on his end. I did try and get him to talk to Air Berlin about going ahead on the flight and having the passport forwarded on the Lufthansa flight as freight but he was too worried he wouldn't get it as English was a challenge with some of the airlines. I was worried about the time he would have to change his ticket. His passport arrived in time and he caught a 9:35 am flight to Frankfurt - arriving at 11 - still 2.45 hours to exchange the ticket.

An hour later - another worried cell call - "Mom -they say I have a reservation but my ticket isn't paid for". She says its going to cost lots and lots of money". I'm reading and re-reading the email directions from our travel agent who provided the directions for the change (see previous blog re changes to Riley's travel) and I tell Riley that I'm sure that is not the case and ask him to tell the agent to read the file again. then I ask, "did you give her your paper ticket?" He digs in the bottom of his training bag (he's been travelling 3 weeks remember) and pulls out a crushed ticket. The agent smiles and says - "no problem - this will take half an hour but you have time to make the flight". Riley tells me - "I didn't know I had to give her the ticket - I thought it was all in the computer".

Lesson learned there for me to give him more detail - I thought I had explained it but I didn't write it down for him. He told me after that he could have easily thrown that part out - kids just aren't used to using paper tickets any more! Cell phone went dead so I never did hear if he made the flight but I caught up with him in Montreal eight hours later where he was pleased to report an upgrade to First Class made his trip across the Atlantic much more comfortable.

It was a sleepless night for me but so worth it as my son returned home safely and I felt needed again.

A Picture for Sam

I'm posting this picture for my friend Ruth's son Sam. Sam is almost five and is about the coolest kid I know. Sam loves the water and has been a fan of Riley's for a while now. He especially likes the "twisty" dives and looks forward to showing Riley his moves one day. This one's for you Sam! And keep that water gun away from me!!!

What exactly does "Life of Riley" mean?

What ever did we do before Google and subsequently, Wikipedia?

Click on this link and you'll find everything you wanted to know about the original "Life of Riley" http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_Riley .

I'm including my favourite find - the lyrics of a song by the Lightning Seeds - a British band from the 90's. There's some connection between Riley and me in this song, I just have to think about it a little more.

The Life of Riley by The Lightning Seeds

Lost in the Milky Way
Smile at the empty sky and wait for,
The moment a million chances may all collide.
I'll be the guiding light,
Swim to me through stars that shine down.
And call to the sleeping
World as they fall to Earth.
So here's your life,
We'll find our way,
We're sailing blind,
But it's certain nothing's certain.
From cradles and sleepless nights,
You breathe in life forever,
And stare at the World
from deep under eiderdown.
Although this World is a crazy ride,
You just take your seat and hold on tight.
For the first time,
I don't mind,
I get the feeling,
You'll be fine,
I still believe,
That in this World,
We've got to find the time,

For the Life of Riley

Mother or Travel Agent?

So communication since Riley has been in Europe has been spotty at best. He's very busy training and socializing and thinking of calling his mother on regular occasions falls way down the list of "to do's. That is with the exception of when he wants something - usually money or changes to his travel schedule.

This week was full of both as he ended up on an unexpected extent ion to include Germany. Getting him to Germany was challenging for sure but we succeeded and he is safely ensconced in the hotel and reports back are that he is training well, the food is "ok" and the hotel is kind of interesting with lots of shops, restaurants and a train station near by.

Once in Germany however, Riley discovered his return trip home required him to be in the Berlin airport for at 6:45 am Monday flight to Frankfurt. For a "not so good in the morning" guy this was a tragedy. Compounded by the fact that Rostock (location of the Grand Prix) is not really in Berlin but a 2.5 hour bus ride outside of Berlin. Hmmm - a welcome call from my son turned into a further request for flight changes. Well after numerous attempts to meet his social and sleep deprived schedule, I had to admit defeat and tell him he had to stick with the original plan. I was really bummed as I pride myself in sorting out all the travel details right down to googling the best possible connections and rates on hotels. (I will look at 5 sites to save 5 bucks...). I was reminded that the reason he wanted a change may have nothing to do with his performance and likely more to do with missing the after party. For a 15 year old in Germany, I'm glad the original plan is in tact.

He won't be a bundle of joy when I pick him up at the airport on Monday but it will be great to see him. Oh and yes ... he will be coming home with a whole suitcase full of dirty laundry.

Happy Father's Day!

I wonder how many blogger's will be posting this message. Can't let the day go by without posting my own.

Happy Father's Day dad - so glad you are still here to celebrate it with us!

Disappointment

Funny thing. I can't spell the word disappointment. Wonder if there is anything to that?

Today Riley and I were both disappointed.

He competed 10 metre at a Grand Prix event in Rome, Italy. He came 17th and did not move on to the semi-finals. His best dives were just ok and the dive giving him trouble he ripped for 8's. Something is off and he will have to work hard to figure it out and improve. He's 200 points away from the podium. That's a lot of work.

My disappointment resulted from not knowing Riley was competing today. In his entire diving career, its the first time I didn't wish him good luck. It wasn't intentional. He was not scheduled to compete but sometime during this week, Alex decided not to dive and Riley took his place. He told me afterwards that he sent a message to both me and his dad to let us know but somehow I didn't get mine. Communication the rest of the week focused on trying to get him new travel arrangements so he could continue on with the team to Germany and competing on Saturday never came up. When I told Riley today how sad I was that I didn't know, he didn't think it was a big deal - he had thought he had done his job and besides, he hadn't done well anyway. Suck it up mom. So why did it hit me so hard? Jealousy that he chose to tell his dad instead of me (not true), concern he is leaving me behind (partly true), anxiety and guilt that I've turned his life upside down (partly true).

A run with my favourite tunes and returning home to love, concern and care helped a lot.

Riley dives tomorrow and I wished him luck. I know I won't be disappointed no matter how he does. I hope he won't be either.

And so I begin

I've been inspired lately by some amazing girlfriends. Susan and Mika have written some very powerful editorial in this medium and it creates an urge in me to do something small in my own way. I've just finished reading my friend Laura's trip through India and I'm humbled about starting to write about anything that is not meaningful to the greater good but upon a short reflection, being a mom is about the greater good isn't it? And being the mom of Riley is a unique story to tell. And so I begin ...

When you go to http://www.diving.ca/ and look at Riley's profile under the Senior National Team, you will find that he has accomplished quite a bit in his young life. What it doesn't tell you however, is what it has taken to get there and even more daunting, what it will take to achieve his ultimate dream of winning a World Championship and an Olympic gold medal.

Riley is fifteen and he has been diving for ten of those fifteen years. I think one time we calculated how many dives that is but I'm at a loss at the moment to remember and no calculator within reach. Suffice to say, training five to six days a week, twice a day, its a lot. It also means a lot of time for me, sitting at the pool (until thankfully Commonwealth renovated and built a gym looking over the pool so I moved from stationary to tread mill) and watching his efforts. It provides lots of time to think. What I've been thinking about lately is what Riley has given up to get to where he is. Don't get me wrong, he has received so many wonderful experiences and chances to develop incredible life skills and I'm grateful for it all. I think though, because he is now fifteen and thinking these things a wee bit himself, I'm just hoping at the end of his career he looks back and says that yes, it was all worth it. Its hard when you are fifteen and all your friends are going to parties, staying out late, driving cars and spending money. I wonder if his friends are immune to "I can't, I have diving" and are still ok to be there when he can, which isn't often. Its a very hard time to be a kid let alone one with the weight of the countries shoulders on him as "the next one" (that's the next Alex not the next Wayne).

Riley has been lauded as "the next one" since he was six. He's used to that for sure, but now, at fifteen and his first year on the Senior Grand Prix circuit and only thirteen months away from Beijing, its time to deliver the goods and perform like all the experts have said he would the past ten years. The pressure must be tremendous. I wonder how he copes.