CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's a dream come true and one of Joe Estacio's proudest accomplishments.
"I keep pinching myself in the morning," he said. "When I see it, I think, 'Wow, I actually did it.'"
Estacio is a published children's book author.
For him, reading and writing is a lifelong passion but the idea of publishing a book started about a decade ago just from reading to his children.
"We actually ran out of books to read and my kids wanted me to tell them stories of my childhood," he said.
Telling his own stories and listening to his children's thoughts allowed him to soak in how different his life was compared to younger generations.
"These days, kids play inside and play video games," he said. "They don't go outside and socialize, bike ride, or climb trees!"
When sharing with his children, he immediately realized he wanted everyone to get a glimpse of what children experienced decades ago but says timing to make it happen was always difficult, until this year.
"The writing took me about 2 months to do," Estacio said. "I got ideas from my kids, what sounded good or bad, what hit them, and I went off of that."
He says the illustrator lives halfway across the world in Pakistan.
They worked together virtually and on July 22, a long-awaited journey came to fruition.
His book, "When I Was Young," was published.
"It's changed my life," he said. "People realize, 'Wow, Joe, we didn't know you had that in you!'"
He says this is only the beginning.
He hopes anyone who reads his stories, no matter the age, will take something from it.
You can find the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.