Never too old to dream.

This morning I dropped my son off at school, and then I head straight to the library to visit some old friends and make new ones as I pursued the books on the shelves.

What I encountered was so surreal that I broke the number one rule at a library.
 I squealed, loudly.

My debut book is on a shelf for others to read.
A dream I hadn't even known I was holding close to my heart had come true in that moment.

My second book, Taken in the Woods, is going to be published by October 1, 2013.
Now one of my dreams is to see it nestled next to Left on the Edge in the library.

These dreams are making me more motivated and energized to finish the trilogy than if I had drunk a whole pot of coffee. 

Dreams are amazing things.
Just because you grow older doesn't mean you stop having them.

The start of the Woodmere Trilogy begins with the main character Autumn celebrating her birthday.

"Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Autumn," Marion said. "Go on, make a wish.”
“I’m too old to make wishes,” Autumn retorted.
Leaning forward and holding her wavy reddish hair back, Autumn exhaled a small gust. I wish I could meet the man of my dreams this year, she thought before the last candle was extinguished.
(Taken from Left on the Edge)

As Autumn experiences in the Woodmere Trilogy,
dreams come true
in ways you wish for and in ways unexpected.

I first remember wanting to take care of sick animals when I was little.
My mom and dad informed me that was the job of a veterinarian.

Then I read an obscure book I picked up from the St. Charles Parish Library when I was in grade school.
Scrub Dog of Alaska by Walt Morey and it changed my mind.
I wanted to run in the Iditarod and own a dog sled team.

But like most childhood dreams there were complications.
No snow.
I was living in Louisiana.
No dogs allowed.
My mom is allergic to dogs.

I knew it wasn't going to happen, but that wasn't going to stop me from dreaming about it.
I filled page after page in my notebook in school (It was more fun than taking notes!) with drawings of mushers and sled dogs hard at work pulling loads of emergency supplies to people in need.

I never stopped reading.
I never stopped spending countless hours, days, years at the library listening to the stories come to life through my imagination as I read book after book

As my biography says, I have a Siberian Husky.
While I am not running medical supplies to those in need, the neighborhood opossums and squirrels have learned to stay away or become faster than a sled dog.
Neighbors have taken to thanking my dog with ham bones for riding their gardens of rabbits.
So in a way, my wish to help others with a sled dog has come true.
Like Autumn, it happened in ways I didn't foresee.

What were your childhood dreams? Have they come true? How have your dreams changed changed?