ISSUE 43 | VERTICALLIFEMAG.COM
TOM O’HALLORAN, PROFESSIONAL
CLIMBER AND AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIAN, AND HIS DAUGHTER AUDREY (9)
Audrey doesn’t really care about climbing. Nor does she care what I, or her mum, have done in climbing. All she’s interested in is getting to swing from the anchors. “Dad, have you got to the top yet? I want to swing out over those trees.” It’s equally great and annoying hearing this. “Buddy, I’m just resting on this hold for a moment, I’ll try my best to get there.” Then we play a game of, Come Here, Go Away, from the TV show Bluey. This involves pushing her out for a big swing, and as she’s coming back in, you pretend you have something really important you need to tell her. As she comes right back next to you, you start saying the important thing. However, she’s reached the apex of her swing and is whizzing back away from you, so you say, “Hey, come back, I have something really important to tell you. Come here, come back!” But she’s sailing off into the distance. It’s a classic and leads to lots of giggles. About every third time we head out, she’s keen to pull on and give climbing a crack. We had a little stint in late 2021 where she was super keen, and we were getting out as a family a few times a week. We tried to keep the momentum, but the rain kicked in and life kicked off. We haven’t managed to get back there.
I’ve reflected on that time and realised, I think, she enjoyed it because they were her days, as much as ours. No one likes being a third wheel, especially if the wheel needs to be at a cold, windy, dusty cave and has run out of chocolate milk. I’d like to try and recapture that time and energy again and see if the climbing thing bites for her. Far out, it’s a fun way to spend your time. There are just so many cool things we could all do together. But that’s just me. It's also pretty fun to make Lego constructions and draw with her and go along to her music and dance concerts. Chat to adults who don’t have knackered skin from falling off small edges and see a world outside our bubble. It’s a cliché, but there’s as much to learn from your kid as you have to teach them. At a certain point, we’ll be playing Come Here, Go Away for real. She’ll be a teenager wanting space, hanging with friends and moving out of home. I’m not ready for that. “Come back.” I want every moment until then to count. However it comes. WINTER 2023 17
