MAYFLOWER, Ark. — On this Labor Day holiday, the community of Mayflower is celebrating one of their own.
"I could just tear up thinking about it," Julia Gaffney said.
She is a Paralympic swimmer from Arkansas.
She traveled to Tokyo for the 2020 Paralympic games.
The double-amputee said she has always had a passion for competition.
"I started competitively swimming at 15 years old and I was always active and loved doing sports," Gaffney said.
And her mom, Kristin Gaffney, always knew there was a future in the water.
"My mom thought swimming would be a great fit for me and she was right," Gaffney said.
It is clear that moms know best.
Julia is back at home and was able to bring two bronze medals that she wears proudly, but the journey to getting them was far from easy.
After being disqualified from an individual medley race, she said the support from her friends and family made a difference.
"You have to learn how to deal with those disappointments and I had a great group of girls just around me," Gaffney said.
Gaffney's family wasn't able to travel to Tokyo to see her compete in what is probably one of her life's biggest moment.
Her biggest cheerleader was disappointed.
"We assumed pretty early on that we weren't going to get to go and so I did think it did give us some time to adjust to that," Gaffney said.
However, she was able to cheer her on from their home.
The River Plantation Neighborhood came together and organized a parade in honor of Julia to spread a cheerful message of happiness and a way to welcome the Paralympian home.
It is something Gaffney said came as quite a surprise and for that, she will never forget this Labor Day.
"Just to go out and to see everyone there and it just kept on coming and everyone was just excited to see me," Gaffney said.