Again I find myself saying, where did the last month go. With school holidays here in Australia, myself back training, our house renovations coming to an end, the past month has been a real blur. I can finally say with some peace in my mind that, we are finally back into some sort of routine in our home, and my season 2010 has begun. Training is going well and being home with my girls is just awesome. I completed our first MaccaX camp this year in Australia and we have our second camp next week in Singapore, so it has been very busy. For all those patient people who have been waiting for our launch of MaccaX training platform, I can say now with some sort of certainty that our site will go live in about 12 weeks. With sponsor clashes and building issues, I never thought such a positive thing could have so many behind the scene headaches. With them completed and gone, we can push forward with construction, which is happening now.

My daughter asked me yesterday, "Dad, did you go to school?"

My immediate answer was,

"Yes darling of course I went to school and I loved it. I studied hard , always did what the teacher told me to do and was friendly to everyone in the playground. If you study hard at school when you grow up you can be anything you want to be. You can be a doctor or a lawyer, a teacher, anything. You just need to work hard and listen to the teacher."

I felt great with that response, looked at my daughter who took in everything I said, and thought to myself, great parenting Chris. Good job.

I was blown away with her response after I had hit her with that. Our conversation went like this.

Tahlia: "Were you not good at school then, dad?'

Me: "No I was very good at school darling. I studied very hard and got great grades."

Tahlia: "Then why do you do triathlon for your job then? You don't have to be smart to do that. You always tell me sport is for fun. You don’t have to be smart to have fun!. I love school dad and I am going to be a doctor when I grow up. A doctor or maybe a teacher"

I was completely lost for words. How do you answer that question. She is right, you don't exactly have to be a rocket scientist to do our sport, and to be honest; sometimes I wonder if all of us have a brain at all to put ourselves through what we do. My 6-year-old daughter had me stumped and made me think. I told her that daddy did triathlon for a job because he was very good at it, but when it was all over I was going to go back and teach people about being healthy and how to look after themselves. I was going to show people how to get better and to get fit and look after their bodies and be healthy, just like a doctor does. I thought she would like that.

Her answer back to me again made me realize that the little girl we used to drag around the world was finding her balance. She was starting to settle and grow up, and more importantly she was starting to problem solve, dream and think. Being settled at school had given her the balance and stability in her life to dream.

'Dad your not a doctor. You have to learn everything at school to be a doctor. Doctors are smart dad. I want to be a doctor."

She had me, and I knew then and their I was fighting an unwinnable battle trying to justify my intelligence with a 6 year old. I also smiled to myself and was so happy that my daughter was finding her feet. After a life on the road, she was finally settling down. I felt good.

Emma and I had considered many options a couple of years ago, and our family’s stability was always the most important. My girls had been brought up on the road, living out of suitcases and being flown all around the world. It sounds like a glamorous life, and sure many people will say with young kids it is a great educational experience, but what we noticed with our girls was that they were missing a social connection with kids their own age. They were not like bike boxes that you can just pack up and pull apart, and drag all over the world. They had their own social needs that were imperative to their social development. Being book smart is one thing, but at a young age children need interaction with other kids to grow the confidence and social skills that will allow them to develop. Life on the road severely limits this, and over time distorts things. When Emma and I decided to have children we made that decision together as a family, and once that decision was made, we always new it would be family first in all our decision making processes.

Life on the road was tough on them, and our decision to move them home, and give them stability and a social network, has been the best decision we have ever made. People suggested home schooling while I raced, or other educational options via the internet, but it wasn't about the education as much as it was about the allowing our girls to have and create a network of friends that they could grow up with. We are so happy with our decision, and our girls have blossomed for it. The difference we see in Sienna our youngest compared to Tahlia our oldest, shows us that our decision is the right one.

My girls are 6 and 4. They are settled and happy. Yes I travel away to work and come back and forwards during a season and people say, wow Macca you travel a lot. Isn't that hard? The answer is yes it is hard, but when you see the changes in my girls I know it is for the best. I know many people out their have a similar time to me, having to travel for work, but when you have that moment with your kids, that makes you realize that your parenting decisions were the right ones, it makes that time away feel that little bit easier. My daughter asked me a simple question the other day and out of this small conversation I was happy to see how far she had come, from the girl we brought home 2 years ago.

I head up to Singapore in a few days for another MaccaX camp and then in 5 weeks to China for the Ironman. The season is upon me soon, and with my family settled I look at 2010 as another year of success and another year of purpose.

Safe training everyone,

Macca