Those 10 Years went FAST!

Peaceful right?

Hey Superhero! As I write this, you're about to turn 27 in a few days. According to my plan, by this age you should have been engaged to your best friend, editing Glamour Magazine and sipping colorful martinis at posh nightspots in Manhattan. None of that happened. I hope it never happened. That's not really who you are. You spent a long time trying to fit yourself into the box of what you thought you wanted, when really, that wouldn't have made you as happy as you liked to waste your time imagining it would. Now it's April 22, 2021. You're an energetic, accomplished 37 year old who dresses well, albeit a bit eccentrically, but not over the top. I hope you're writing. A lot. Way more than you were 10 years ago. You've published a book of poems, haven't you? I bet you're in the New Yorker all the time. You're probably a Pulitzer Prize winner or poet laureate of the world. I hope you're still riding your motorcycle (and that it's bigger and faster now and also that it's a personal spacecraft!). I hope you've traveled all over the world, writing, meeting people and experimenting with your life. Do we have a house in Spain? I hope we have a house in Spain. If we don't, get on that, please. I hope you finished your 30 Before 30, are nearly finished your 40 Before 40 and have written your 50 Before 50. I hope none of those lists repeated any items. I'm excited to see what you come up with and how 10 years has changed your perspective on life and what you want out of it. I hope you do nice things for other people every day. I hope Muldoon is still around. He'll be almost 12. Harley would be almost 19 now... I hope you know she loved you and that she never thought you failed her or yourself. It was silly to ever think that and I don't know why or how she got connected to all that pain, but she loved you in a way that was supernatural for animals to even feel. I hope you got over feeling like you disappointed her. You didn't. Ever. I hope it's been 9 years since you've even thought about him. And I'm sorry for making you think about him now. I bet Harley forgot all about him. He was never the man he led you believe he was and he certainly wasn't deserving of all that love and admiration you gave him. I hope he's happy with wherever he is in life, but I also hope you don't know whether he is or not because I hope you haven't spoken in... almost 12 years now. I hope you have no idea who I'm talking about! I hope you still play video games unapologetically and wear heels regularly. I hope you laugh all the time with friends new and old who nourish your life with love and culture and new ideas. It's probably as weird for you to imagine me, your old self, as it is for me to imagine you, myself a decade from now. I can't even see a month into the future! Anyway, stay awesome. Let go and take what life gives you. Take action to get what it doesn't. See you in another 10 years! Alison

Epilogue

2 days later

Hi Alison,

I was not expecting this today. You sure had a vision of our future! I'm happy to report that the best parts all came true. Not without pain...

(tgouhh vtieyhrgne ,ulsgretg uoy wntaed did optersiiir you nchdg)ea utb oyu !it esom nda gto. .
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Levi anhtnamta in we do. Bkreo nditus lshoco osspcaiu opseh sgg,roeuo adn ecolpu hte nad sutj ot yuro ityc teh hewn ugdrin edvli - adh uoy uyo rmtnteapa rsdaem rdag otls rcdaehs avlee uhogtht synun taerh a ryou ouy we kbsocl to rmapntaet rfmo atmrke hvae you hte sbecaeu neo ni aveel dan oyu had het a. Mih aoubt laosmt oyu m'i do hiktn lilts day evrey tbu ,rsryo. Ot him stlil uoy gaani anthe'v nkpose. A irmerda wthi bbay own eh's. Elki bene it you thwa dwluo ehva ubtao lot uetruf a tihw in orwedn you thta. Ot ythwro rnitgy stla ot ttha eht yesra hmi yuo wree ouy esdpn 10 eoprv. Ewer lawsay yuo. Uoy who thta on grwon r,eew ervpo ohgthtu to tub ovel baemec uoy eh oneemso mih dpour of rltyu acn noyurej eb ouy atuob and. Dlwuo so pourd os uyo eb. Pdoru are so ouy. .
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Uyo a ewtri lto emor. A?lswya) evha a nad miu(ostiab, dna btu trwei a operyt vlnoe ew praoe n'rteew tstdear krco uyo. St'i ton a ilslt bespil,hdu tey ubt goal. (tehy ncuot ertiw as mdae mahneritg elik ernev a ofr a htta ttah but a earrce oimbsinuss iebfr yuo uloag,rm ce,no oyu ofr hpbuils we'll idd of uoy nudsode i)lcalcnheyt ar,golmu did so rwteo. Mesavsi iginamed in ceth eernv orf a npoyacm on tmikgnear id,tesxe uyo a ntucsonlgi thap in gkrnowi adiem oilsac y'euor. It you levo. Nda ruoy cbiidryenl era risvtppeuo soreocrkw tasrm. By now oryu yuo iwht kwro of nsuctraay - to - the rofeavti lcal oury ecpla orfm patrmenta mldonou uory yuo a,icendmp tge deis het eubesac. .
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Oudmlon uranod lilts is. Htis dna anrcce eh mmreus liwl 12 be teab. No teh eterts peeolp man na h'se ieeelvb t'cna lod. Llsti dog prnaueotti uppyp ibgne rohihonobdeg and sah iaptphse a het in eh rfo regney the. Achrm sspdae tlsa reylha aery ni. Hse 18 ryade nad saw ehs asw. Dna mhuc other ni esh geav cast the lal het so oeltvuid velo mylaif. Obslck oruy gnlo aekm see kcab yarzc ildve ecno poesdimr dna uyo 'ouyd yuo eomv ihwt amydeso nda eon maa,trnept ungeho mtaromseo niot fmor to hre hse nwo dhrsae ti cyn eth ehr yuo usjt to. Zrcya sti'. Adn ogd aftre of i het eon hyarle tme enrgsihob hre s,asedp. . . Larhye dnaem. You iulllff hes htta psroeim aws. .
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Ni kbei eht tcloymcroe osdl het ?cty?i a( we on hnt)s!ka. Grwinok nasip no teh llist were' ni ocndo. Eghu hihg uoy htat if adh efir,lyb cholos ot on rerdi,ma ni tath we ielbvee the guy cuhsr you tog anc. Vsaiebu nda tou tuo ttah he in enrudt sorfyelu raey sles ot udlepl ouy a eb of an nhta liolaochc. Iescn u'eyro otn at yvre asoehisltprin stiudn iipgnck yhhltea odog. Dman ubt 'yovue ayw peparhi 'reuyo erve egneadg tehre enbe onw, t!mesi that ngiels anth. Morf ywa in aevh ruopg ear beceirindl a fo lal ovre oevpuprits how nirsdfe wnkno neevr veouy' ouy na. .
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Eth utsj whiel hwrtgo iraenutqan, year and stal adn deep ni odlmuon alyspceile yuo v'uyeo ,naelhig ltdeoias in dha meismen. Marste oeymn soavuri mkea a amizang twtich, vene lstli ouy ieovd and mgesa nad eahv godni wen no ensrfid eorm ti uyo ohthgur tem littel ethm - lypa ieftniyeld egams. Nad rmoe ssrste uoy eynoj lsse raf fo uyo hwta od. .
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Mseit 05 ahev gonl mroe wgigonr adn htna a 0;5 we tbceuk eberof we islt 100 haev stomla a. Adn sda a was illtte ienctixg tinugrn 73. Maifyl eht stomielnes era ti sllti edspn the btu hcmu uyo godni reov big ilek nca a elttil seelf ,tlef sacrd fo su kloo ifle it iwll rfo a all rtse todesn' eb esre'ht het tewarhev ni it nad uoy leki so eikl so. Ahtt kobo ishfni. Spain to go. Ivits cenistnotn hte all. Atbou lbdui inlivg bene bnieg o!yu od ndgio ouyr lla a ouy oyu ooyaailcelgtpl on octimynmu awnt eilf ecebsua anc antehucit rhwtaeve sicaol adeim anolg uvo'ey lluf ti keep dna. .
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Ackb ayer the wotn hwile ddamree og htta ni tuoab esh ifel strroe hdse' so hes 71 ltle veha ocudl we lod rpdepta us hisw malls ywa i left nad. .
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Uoy i vloe. So ma oyu ofr i rgatufle. Pu uyo vrnee aevg. You nuphgis tekp. Rea to tihs ouy a vusdirve sussecc eswo how lrhfees mseo adn otysr olny ti hlebi,orr nioehsu yuo. Kkic eehr nigog ,otu to to ew ti nyjoe os sas onigg adn rew'e no ee'rw fomr uchm do hvteeraw. Adn ew eb eht lilw als,ywa we tentapi nikd, and of as thoes rntenoceu no ywa iifgornvg. .
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,olev.
Ila lia w(e go now) by.

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