Alex once told me that when he was about 15 years old, he visited St. Kitts (Caribbean) in a cruise ship. Astonished by the beauty of the bay from the top of the mountains, he made a pact with himself, promissing that one day he would come back there on his own boat.
Alex turns 45 today. From 15 to 45, many things happened: he became an engineer, met the love of his life (that is me!), had a sucessful corporate career, became father of 2 amazing kids, made friends in different parts of the world. Not to mention that he became more handsome and a great cooking chef.
Accross these 30 years and the many changes in life, I dare to say that Alex kept true to the person he is in many ways (and I truly admire him for that). Two examples of this are:
1) No matter what the circunstances are and how much pressure there is, he is always this kind and easy going style person (and you colleagues from his corporate life can tell me if my judgement is poor).
2) He also never abandoned sight of the pact he made to himself. And kept feeding it in many ways.
The pact turned to become our retirement plan. And by different matters, it was antecipated in many years (the Pact, not Retirement) and became a journey we are living together with our kids. We are on our way to the Caribbean and St. Kitts!
Ironically we are very far from Pesto (our sailing boat) today, dealing with the many issues of not having a traditional fixed address on land anymore (and those that live under the same circunstances will probably relate to this). But it does not matter… We are already living his (that became ours) dreamed journey.
Today it is the day to celebrate our “Captain”. Alex does not call himself a Captain, but a Skipper. He says it is a sign of respect and recognition to those that really have the formal education to be a Captain. He says it is like calling yourself a doctor if you dont have a medical degree.
OK, I get that. Still, today I allow us to call him a Captain because, to the 3 of us, he is Pesto’s Captain. Our Captain and our Dreamer.
We would not be where we are without the dream and lead of this man.
Alex: We love you and love to be in this journey with you…
Adri, Paulo & Raquel
The reality is rarely the same as the dream. And we’re never the same youth we were when we first dreamed it. So it is indeed a rare achievement to stay true to a dream for 30 years even while adapting to its shifting reality. Add to your talent a family that shares your dream as their own and i know this is a happiest of birthdays for you Alex. Thank you, Adriana, for sharing it with us.
Adri: não consigo definir os sentimentos que as suas palavras me causaram: gratidão, orgulho, admiração, amor…tudo junto e misturado. Que Deus a abençoe, minha filha por adoção, pela linda família que nos proporcionou junto ao nosso querido “dreamer” filho.
Hi Jon, wise words. And spot on. Frankly, there are times I still fear I will wake up and find out it was just a dream, and I am late for that early morning meeting at the office ☺️
Feliz cumpleaños (tarde). Cuando estén por aguas territoriales Mexicanas no olviden pasar a visitar las islas marietas.
Very belated Happy Bday! Love the post!