What a comeback! ☝🏼
It’s been a month now since we returned from California. It’s been an absolute whirlwind and it’s only now that the reality of Joel’s achievement is sinking in. He’s a World Champion! I still can’t believe it. Well, that’s a lie, I can believe it because I know him. Know him better than anyone else. And I know of his immense natural talent, his hard work and dedication, his understanding of the ocean, and the depths and triumphs that brought him to this point.
21 years out of the water, 21 years of not wanting to go near the beach. I had to pester him for weeks to come down to Lennox with me so that Jays tiny little baby toes could touch the Lennox Head sand for the first time with us all together as a family. 21 years of a lot of repressed anger, of not the healthiest of habits, but finding enjoyment away from the ocean. And then it all changed. And we had kids. And the gravity of that finally sunk in with Joel, he started to get fit, was dedicated to walk again at first. And he was doing so well, walking with crutches and a frame at home and at his exercise physiologist. Then suddenly something clicked for him, and he realised he wanted our boys to grow up surfing, and at the beach, with the same childhood he was fortunate enough to have. Joel was back in the ocean! And not just that, he was straight back into competitive surfing... (continued in comments.)
So Joel let me in on a little secret after we fell pregnant with Jay. Not only had he been told by a doctor soon after his injury that chances were he would never be able to have kids, (how rude!) but also that the chance of falling pregnant naturally if the father has a spinal cord injury is only 5-10%, so the fact that we were incredibly lucky to have fallen pregnant naturally with Jay is definitely not lost on us!
A couple of years later, when we decided it would be ideal for Jay to have a sibling/best friend join our little family, we knew the chances weren’t in our favour. We entered into it with hope, but also the hard facts of reality. So when the pregnancy test came back with those two little lines after only a couple of months of trying, we literally laughed in utter shock, and disbelief.
Fast forward to now and obviously the universe knew we were meant to have these two little beautiful ratbags enter our lives.
They’ve been the catalyst for Joel getting back into the ocean, where he’s always belonged. They’ve humbled us, and shown us what true unconditional love is. But maybe most of all, they’ve reinforced how utterly meaningful it is to spend as much of your life as possible doing what brings you joy.
They bring me the most joy in the whole entire world, and I couldn’t imagine spending my life doing anything else now than being their Mother.
Happy Mother’s Day! 💛💛 @joeljttaylor
And for anyone who has struggled with motherhood, you have my empathy forever, there is always hope.
#mothersday #sci #parenthood
He’s done it! 🏆
3 Australian Titles.
2 World Titles.
What a bloody legend!
Huge day surrounded by the best crew that are now considered family. 9 point barrel and some super stylish surfing by Joel, read the tricky conditions perfectly! So proud. Love you Champ! 💛
A week ago my beautiful Nan passed away quite suddenly, but peacefully.
It was the afternoon before Sunny’s Birthday, and so I just powered through, barely allowed myself to even think about it through teary eyes, let alone grieve.
However yesterday I had a little bit of time to myself and I allowed it to all finally sink in.
It hurts differently to lose your last grandparent. Especially when my Nan was such a selfless, caring and gentle woman.
So many childhood sleepovers spent at Nan and Pops, always with books and chockies and lots of laughter. Day trips down the coast, family holidays, the beautiful farm at Bega when I was a bubba, their favourite weekly coffee catch ups at Miranda Fair.
The calming voice of reason when my teenage self was deep in argument with my Mum.
She adored all of her great grandchildren so much, cliched I know but it truly gave her a new lease on life. The boys called her Nana Nana and adored her.
She was such an amazing, supportive wife to Poppy for 72 years.
A wonderful Nan to our whole family. Will miss her soft laugh and kind face forever.
Feels like the ending of such a critical life chapter.
It’s nice to have the thought that maybe Pop is waiting for her somewhere, anywhere, asking for a coffee and to share a piece of cake. Love you Nan. 🌼
SUNNY IS FOUR! 🧁
Four years of moshing, madness, and the most wonderful cuddles.
A beach rat just like his father, would very happily surf all day and build lego all night. The last 12 months of our wild three year old have introduced a level of chaos into our home that neither Joel nor I would have ever approved of haha. But with that chaos comes such intense love, beautiful Sunny affection, and copious amounts of laughter.
Smart beyond his few years, he looks up to his best friend, his big brother, daily.
Looking forward to more cuddles, more moshing, and endless beach days.
Love you so bloody much my Sunny boy.
As Sunny has been saying over the past few days… ‘even though I’m going to be a big boy now Mum, I’ll always be your baby. And you can cuddle me forever.’ 💛
He’s a god, he’s a man, he’s a guru 🙌🏼
I’ve been lucky enough to see Nick Cave many times live, and although every show has been amazing, last night was an experience I’ll never forget.
His stage presence is unsurpassed, high kicks and swagger like no one else. The Bad Seeds as always, the perfect accompaniment.
We danced, we sang, we clapped, we laughed… I cried.
If I could do it all over again tonight I would.
Big thanks to JT for filming whilst I was too busy dancing. ♥️ @joeljttaylor@nickcaveofficial
#nickcave #nickcaveandthebadseeds
