If …

It was like a carefully coordinated act on a play. The Sun set to the west, behind the dramatic contour of the rugged mountains that wrap around Taiohae Bay, and up came the Moon to the east – so bright as it was.
5 years ago, if someone had told me I would be here on this day today to witness all this, I would have said “I wish” and might have wondered how difficult it would have been to change our lives so radically for this to happen.

We watched this natural show while savoring a Carbonara Pasta that I had just cooked, a promise I had made to the crew – and to myself – as a token for completion of the Puddle Jump.
10 years ago, if someone had told me I would one day know how to cook, I would have said “Dude, I can’t even fry an egg, let alone make an elaborate dish”, and would have gone back to whatever was making me too busy to dream at that time.

We kept enjoying the moment, made even more pleasant as Pesto rocked gently to the little swell that makes it into the bay.
15 years ago, if someone had told me I would one day own a stout, seaworthy yacht capable of taking us to wherever we dared to go, I would have daydreamed, but wouldn’t believe it could ever come true given how much I was earning at the time.

Adriana was at the front deck, dancing to the song that was playing off the iPod, her body glowing silver to the Moon’s impossibly bright light.
20 years ago, if someone had told me Adriana would one day enthusiastically join me on the wildest adventure we could conceive, I would have felt reassured, although skeptical, given how overwhelming life seemed to be at that stage.

Raquel was keen on the music selection, and Paulo was laying his head on my lap.
25 years ago, if someone had told me I would have two kids – a boy and a girl – and that I would love them so much, I would have presented at least 10 strong, well-rehearsed reasons as to why I had “not been made to be a father”.

Elton John was playing on the iPod, completing what was already a quite perfect moment.
30 years ago, as I sat on the backseat of my parents’ car, and listened to the Elton John’s songs coming from the cassette tape player, someone had told me I would one day be listening to those same songs, sitting on deck of my yacht, watching the Sun and the Moon dance as day turned into night, floating at a picturesque bay somewhere in the South Pacific, as I shared a delicious meal with my family … Well, I would have believed it wholeheartedly.

And then, maybe this wouldn’t have happened at all.

Life has so much potential.
And I wish Paulo and Raquel have the wisdom and fortune to find their own keys for it.