It’s about time. I’m almost forty, and I figure it’s about time I fulfilled some of those lifelong dreams. Since my chances of ending up on Oprah are pretty slim, and my dad isn’t likely to buy me a pony (besides, I outgrew that desire once I had kids and realized the fun of potty duty), I’ve moved on to other dreams--one that’s coming true tomorrow. I get to go dolphin training. I haven’t been this excited since I was five and waiting for Christmas morning to arrive so I could see if Santa brought me a Barbie Townhouse. I love all things aquatic. Am a total fish fanatic. Have fish things all over my office, have a fish screensaver, would dine at a seafood restaurant every day of the week if that was possible in the Midwest (I know, I can hear you laughing all the way over here) and sorely miss the 45-gallon fish tank we used to have. When I go visit my family in Massachusetts, the first thing I do is roll down the windows and inhale the scent of the ocean. When we went to Florida, I got up extra early every morning and sat on the patio with the binoculars, waiting to see the dolphins and whales swim by. So when a reader who works at an aquarium offered to let me come be a trainer for a day, I made it happen (not an easy thing to do amid the hectic pace of the Romance Writers of America conference--that thing is wall-to-wall stuff to do, appointments with my editors and agent, etc.). But tonight, I’m jetting down to Corpus Christi, and in the morning, I’ll be in the dolphin tank, swimming with the fishes. Literally. I even bought a special digital camera, an Olympus Stylus 770, that goes underwater, and am hoping to get some unique pics with that. This is such a cool thing, I will definitely use it in a book down the road (I’ll have to come up with a plot all around this, that’s for sure) or maybe several books. Either way, I know it’s one of those experiences I will never forget and definitely one of those check marks I can make in the Achieved a Dream category. So look for pics on my website in a few days, and I hope this inspires you to go after some of your lifelong dreams, too!