tuamotus

Around the time I turned 30, Michael and I made a promise to ourselves that we would sail to the South Pacific before we turned 40. It seemed a reasonable deadline, if even having such a deadline is reasonable to start with. But it seems to have worked: a few days ago on Fakarava atoll in the middle of the South Pacific ocean I turned 37.

Over the past five years we scribbled countless timelines and schedules on scraps of paper. We added up numbers, formed numerous plans. In the end, we went with the one that got us to our goal the soonest and here we are. Not only does it feel marvelous, but now we have even more years to plan for the next one.

There were so many moments along the way where it seemed absolutely impossible; at the beginning we had a newborn and a toddler and with the two girls in tow we had to sell a house, buy a(nother) boat, give everything away, get the new boat ready…. I can’t even count the number of times we just wanted to give up, concede that it wasn’t going to happen. Usually though when either Michael or I were ready to throw in the towel one of us would remind the other we are almost there. And we really were.

My birthday wish is for you to start, or keep, making plans for whatever big or small thing you must do before your next big birthday, whether it’s 30 or 40 or 80. And keep at it, you’re almost there. If you wish, we’d love to hear what you are planning in the comments below.

Michael took the girls birthday shopping for me in Nuku Hiva and they picked out, on their own, this writing tiki for me. Instead of war clubs, he holds two pencils in little holes tucked under his arms.