I tease my brother about it.
"Boet… you know you've become that parent now?"
And he has.
Completely.
He knows every swimming PB.
Every score on the beam.
Every floor routine.
Where a foot landed wrong.
What mark was lost.
What could be better next time.
He lives it all.
The victories.
The nerves.
The injuries.
The waiting.
The long drives.
The "next time" talks.
The celebrations.
My niece Lexie made the Under 19 South African underwater hockey team.
Vicky was chosen to represent South Africa in gymnastics.
What extraordinary things.
And my brother is there for all of it.
Underwater hockey is not a spectator sport.
You don't sit at the side and watch every move.
But he is still there.
Every match.
Every result.
Every hard day.
Every good one.
Gymnastics is different.
That you can watch.
You can film it.
Replay it.
Post the scores.
Relive every moment.
And he does.
Because living through your children a little… I think that is real.
Not in the my dreams must become your dreams kind of way.
In the hopeful way.
The human way.
The I want this for you because I love you way.
It happens at swimming pools.
At gymnastics halls.
At soccer fields.
At horse shows.
The dads standing at the side of the arena know it too.
Watching every stride.
Riding every jump in their heads.
The horse carrying more than a rider.
Carrying hopes.
Dreams.
Pressure.
Pride.
And then that moment.
The clear round.
The fist in the air.
The grin you try to hide.
The hug afterwards.
The you did it look.
Sport has a funny way of stitching people together.
And some families become teams.
My brother's family feels like one of those.
A unit.
Held together by effort, support, talent, encouragement and a lot of time spent beside something important.
What beautiful moments they are.