Dreams Never Expire
Do you remember your childhood dreams?
Not the ones you pursued because society expected you to work a good-paying job while marrying and raising a family. The ones that came before, back in the days when your backyard landscaping served as the depths of a jungle for your wildest explorations. What did you imagine doing in those early days? Did you want to walk on the moon, dance Swan Lake with a famous ballet company, teach, or even become a best-selling author?
Those might not have been your dreams but they were some of mine.
Real life soon took over. Early on, I was discouraged from taking ballet because I was too big. Becoming an astronaut wasn’t an option due to my low grades in math and science. The teaching idea was squashed when my family suggested I become a lawyer instead. The one dream I tried to keep alive was becoming a best-selling author. Early in my marriage, I fit writing around my children’s naps, household chores, doctor’s appointments, and all the other responsibilities of parenting. When traditional publishing didn’t happen and my youngest started school, I got a “real” job to help make ends meet, and my last dream went on the back burner for the next twenty-something years.
None of this means I haven’t enjoyed life. I’ve been married to a wonderful man for more than forty years, and we have three great kids, a terrific son-in-law, and amazing grandkids. I stumbled upon a career that turned out to be perfect for me, though I hadn’t known the field existed for most of my life. The time I spent working as an archivist also ended up fulfilling one of my early dreams, teaching, just not in the way I’d expected.
Opportunities for unexpected adventures popped up in the intervening years. My husband’s time in the Air Force took us to Japan where we both climbed Mt. Fuji. Taking my eldest kid to audition for a favorite TV show ended up getting me a brief job as an extra in an Oscar-nominated film. I even ran for public office at one point and, though I didn’t win, I learned a lot of important lessons about life and myself. Despite not yet achieving my earliest dreams, I was having a great time.
Dreams Never Expire
The reality of dreams is that they never go away. Now that my husband and I have retired, we are free to do all the things we’ve discussed for years, like travel. We’ve already seen a lot of the United States, ventured into Canada, and journeyed across the Atlantic to Ireland, Scotland, and France. We took an extra-special trip to Wrigley Field to see our beloved 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs, and visited the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. Bucket list items like seeing Niagara Falls and Devil’s Tower have been checked off the list, and we’re planning to go to places like the Grand Canyon.
In my sixties I find that I’ve become unapologetically myself, returning to a place where I am more like the little kid who dreamed all those big dreams so many years ago. I am no longer afraid to try new things or meet new people. While I don’t imagine taking up ballet at this point in life, I bought myself tap shoes, and dance is still in the picture.
Though I have no plans to go to space, I enjoy visiting places where the vast and dark night skies provide opportunities for amazing stargazing. Best of all, I’m writing again. My husband and I have started our own little publishing company, we’ve co-written a romance, and we’re each working on solo projects of our own. I’ve just released a paranormal romance featuring later in life characters that is the first installment of a planned six-book series. I’ve started on the second book, the third is almost ready to go, and the rest will follow close behind. Finding my creative groove again makes me very happy.
The achievement of some of my long-ago dreams feels so much deeper and richer with the benefit of life experience. Whether or not I become a best-selling author, my hope is that readers will be drawn to writing that reflects more of who I am. My disappointment at not having fulfilled my childhood aspirations sooner has faded and I’m in a very happy place now.
The reality of dreams is they have no expiration date. Don’t be afraid to dust off your own.
For more information and updates on Cassidy Carson’s books, as well as links to her social media and podcasts, please check out her website
