My star has burnt so brightly now

It’s dulling by the day,

Eclipsed by burning suns

That light the midnight sky.

Perhaps I’ll reignite one day,

A swan song to delight,

But patience is the key to this

And gratitude for what I have.

During the Tokyo Olympics I was scrolling through Instagram when I fell upon a post by one of my all time favourite swimmers. Missy Franklin was seventeen when she won several golds at London 2012. Her achievements were phenomenal and I also love how gracious she was in defeat.

During Tokyo she was heavily pregnant with her first child and she had written that she had spent the night crying because she was watching all her team mates doing amazing things and getting adulation for that.

She said that her husband held her and said that carrying his child was the amazing thing that she was doing this summer, and I thought that was such a lovely thing to say.

However, I totally understand how she feels, when you know you have been on fire in the past and now you are just plodding through life. I felt that this weekend, watching everyone complete marathons here, there and everywhere.

I think that in times like this I need to practice gratitude for what I have. Yes, I may have run hundred milers and swum the channel, and now I really struggle to run a half marathon. But I do have a career, something I dreamt of for so many years, and something that was just too far out of my reach.

Much Love

Rachel xx