‘Loved’

Yesterday, we were all asked the question by Andrew at New Level Results ‘How do you feel now it is all over?’ To which I replied: ‘I feel loved’ – and it is true. Amongst so many other emotions that I have running through me on a daily basis at the moment, ‘loved’ is at the top.

I don’t have a job, I’m living between London and my parents in Kent, and I have little money, but my belly has food in it, I am so happy and I feel loved. I have amazing friends and family and I don’t need anything else in my life to make me smile. The ocean breeze blows through my hair when I walk along the coast at home, and at that moment, looking out to sea when the sun is in my eyes, I realise just how lucky I am. Stop. Breathe. Smell. Feel. Taste. Hear, and more than anything love.

If I’m in London, I wake up and turn over to see a boy who means so much to me and has been my absolute rock before and during the row, but also now in this exciting and unknown time of what the future holds. When I’m in Kent I wake up to a delicious vegetable juice made with love by Mikey Boi. My family have lived and breathed the row for the past year. My Aunty Linda who runs Dolphin Swim School with Elaina have raised countless amounts of pounds with their children swimming every length of the 25 metre pool worth a mile of the Pacific Ocean from America to Australia. My Aunty Wendy, has taken up running and yoga and ran every day that we were on the Pacific (Wendy has never run before). My Grandparents held a huge strawberry afternoon tea in the summer, raising pounds and pounds, they also sent emails to all of the local press about us, and tell every person they know about our journey. My Aunty Jane, opened up in her very own blog about her experiences of having breast cancer. My sister Amy, wrote to hairdressers all around Cairns for us to get a haircut when we arrived on land – and then there is my mum and her partner Mikey boi. My mum fills me with hope in everything I do, she is the person that says ‘you can do it’ when I come up with another crazy idea, and she is the person who last night walked across hot coals for charity saying that she wishes it had been a bonfire! Without Mikey boi, I’m not sure my mum would be standing to tell the tale of how her daughter was on an unsupported boat in the Pacific, and seeing them both in Australia just made me think how lucky I am! But that’s not even to mention, friends, other family members, and everyone who reads our daily blogs who we have never met that have made us feel so loved.

Then there are the six amazing girls (six because Ella, our social media guru is a complete and utter babette too) that I am just so fortunate to have crossed paths with – the rest of The Coxless Crew! Me and Lizanne worked in some teamwork together yesterday – difficult when one of you is thousands of miles away, but with Facetime my laptop came alive and I loved having Lizanne on my shoulder with me xxx

That doesn’t even name half of the reasons why I feel loved, but it does name a few. Since being back on land despite not being able to catch up with everyone yet, I can’t express how much that the people in each of our lives that are special to us mean. So I suppose this blog is a thank you. Thank you to everyone that has, and continues to support us in our challenge. There is just no way that we could have done it without you, but it’s not over. With more money to raise we need to continue to share our story and raise funds! Can you help?

Meg

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