As a child, I would sit on the arm of a rocking chair, pretend I was sitting in the driver’s seat of a taxicab, rock back and forth, and see myself crossing oceans and mountains and dusky skies, seeing all the countries of the globe. I’d write stories in my composition notebook, making sure to capture in writing every detail of every country I saw. And, often times, as I would begin to submerge myself in my fantasies, my mother would break in: “Did you do your homework?”

Just like eight year-old Nadia, Mark Rubinstein found himself dreaming about writing novels. Likewise, he found himself with responsibilities. In an interview, he said:

“I always had dreams…I read sports novels and developed a love

 for fiction. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack London, Edgar Allen Poe

and Ernest Hemingway became my new heroes…But I lacked the

courage to write…Instead, I earned a business degree at NYU.”

He then went on to describe his numerous careers and responsibilities in life. And then, after retirement, he finally began to pursue his true passion: writing fiction:

“I’ve written one novel, with another coming in September 2013.

And more are on the way. Am I in my second career or my fourth?

Does it matter? I’ll soon to be 71 and am finally doing what I always

wanted: writing heart-pumping thrillers — pure fiction.”

And so, as I sit here writing this blog post, and as I think about my work tomorrow at my day job, and as I think about the loads of laundry waiting to be done, the groceries yet to be bought, and the ten million other responsibilities I have, I feel a a glimmer of joy. After everything is said and done, my dream won’t ever die. Not unless I let it. And so, that third draft of a novel saved on my hard drive…it has the potential of becoming a hardcover best-seller! The point to my spiel, reader? Don’t ever lose sight of your dream. At seventy-one, you can still make your dreams come true. Just keep them in sight. Keep feeling for them. And give them a chance to bloom into reality. In one blink, they can always go from soft-focused dream to hard-to-the-touch life.