Parker ready to celebrate Olympics with kid

Associated Press

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Candace Parker can’t wait to get to London.

It’s not just because she’ll be playing in her second Olympics or that she’ll get to see the city for the first time. She’s just really excited to be reunited with her 3-year-old daughter Lailaa.

“This Olympics is really for her. It will be a great experience for her to look back at this when she’s old enough,” Parker said. “This time four years ago she wasn’t even a thought and now she’ll be at the Olympics with me. It means a lot for her to be here with me.”

Parker hasn’t seen her daughter since the U.S. women’s basketball team left Washington, D.C., on July 16. It’s the longest the two have been apart since Lailaa was born on May 13, 2009. The two have traveled around the world as Lailaa is always by her side. When Parker plays in Russia in the winter, Lailaa is there. When she goes on the road during the WNBA season, her daughter is around.

“It’s really hard being apart from her,” Parker said. “It was emotional when I said goodbye to her in Washington. She’s getting older and it’s tough but mommy’s got to do her job. She’ll be able to be there for the Olympics.”

The two have talked every other day using an online calling service while the U.S. trained in Manchester, England, and Istanbul.

“It’s cute she told me she missed me and was crying for me,” Parker said. “It is nice getting a little extra sleep and I know she’s in really good hands with Shel and my grand parents.”

Parker will have to wait until Sunday to see her family as her daughter and husband Shelden Williams won’t arrive until then.

U.S. women’s basketball team director Carol Callan joked with Parker that she’d tug on her sleeve from time to time and cry if it helped. Callan is the only other member of the U.S. women’s basketball delegation who is a mother, so she can understand what Parker is going through.

The 26-year-old Parker admits that having a daughter has helped her grow-up quickly.

“You really start to appreciate things more,” Parker said. “I look back to the 2008 Olympics and I was so young, I was 22 years old. I didn’t really stop to take it all in. I know in London I’m going to try and really just enjoy the games. I’ve never been to London before and I want to see Big Ben and the bridges.”

Parker seems to be enjoying herself a lot more on the court lately and that’s because she’s completely healthy for the first time since giving birth. She came back to the Los Angeles Sparks only two months after Lailaa was born.

In 2010, she injured her left shoulder and that caused her to miss the world championships which the U.S. won. Last season, she only played six games before injuring her right knee and missing the remainder of the season.

“I hated being out, but it helped me love the game more,” Parker said. “I can remember my shoulder finally healed and I played overseas and then came back and my knee was hurt.”