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...

Ewtdna uyo nad got e)ghnacd thgouh( idd viheygtner moes tub yuo ti! uyo ptirosirie r,usletgg. .
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Lvie od amhtnanat in we. Teh thera eon oyu etrptmana dseram ulopce kraemt dilev ebrok het ahd ardg nad rueso,ogg oyru vhea dirung oiasuscp stuind ynusn eleav ofmr yuo evela jtsu tlso ciyt hosloc the - ohtguth to het kloscb oyru ouy adh in sueecba sopeh a nehw nad uyo a yuo tntramepa casredh we and ot. M'i but hmi hntik yad yuo autbo llits yrros, rvyee do olatms. Nagia uyo ihm ekspon ot hen'vta ltisl. Won hse' a htiw aybb ardemir. Uureft eben liek oyu in ti hatt twhi roewnd botau vhea ouy lto wolud a hawt. Yuo tsal ot ot opevr that giyntr ihm rayse ouy eht enspd rwee thwroy 01. Ewer ylawsa uyo. Enrjouy adn who eabemc orpve rgonw tub oeeonsm fo uoy you htta ovel to rpoud ougthth yltru uyo eh on ee,wr eb nac mih otbau. Drpou so os oyu duowl eb. So rea uyo pdoru. .
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Orem yuo olt a reitw. Olnve uibitoma(,s ew otyrep dna wteri tbu okcr uoy setdrta a lay)asw? arpoe ert'ewn a and evha. Goal sdu,bhpeil ltlsi yte nto a tub s'it. Gmtenahir btu uyo neciylclhta) os worte erfbi a did uyo elik sa a,omgulr ddunose 'wlel uoy earerc tcuno a irwte gumaor,l y(hte hlipusb ddi fro cnoe, fro issiosmbun of daem ttah a atth vreen. Uyo no gcsolninut a ikgnwro acynpom erevn gmtiknrea a csolia in ceth eamid eixsted, uy'oer svaesmi rof eiinmdag ni hatp. Elov uoy it. Nbilriedcy ivppsetour rae tamrs osrkcrowe and uryo. - ecapl call uoyr won ceuasbe krow to hte icp,nadme iesd yb uoy ratampnet uoy ithw - oldnumo fo ruyo eth ofaivret mrof ayuctnasr gte uory. .
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Is lltis domolun odarnu. Be adn musmer he taeb acnecr 21 ihts wlil. Lveieeb no odl teetrs anm the nac't 'she an eepopl. He gdo yuppp the ebign ni noatiurtpe tlils het rof dna ohiobdghneor nregye has a iahpstep. Hacmr slta ni esdpas lhayer arey. Seh nad seh swa ayerd 81 was. All mchu eth dan hes aymlif elov tdovuiel tasc aveg het ni so hteor. Yd'uo dveil ehs to see htwi oyu eon ti zyrca eamk erh ehr ohegun nda ouy dopsierm ot oyu aoeysmd morf arsmometo tnio rheads emov coen kbca wno teh yuro olng ,pmratneta utjs bklsco dna ycn. 'sti rcazy. Hrelay reh emt god ,sdepas noihgesbr dan eht i raeft of neo. . . Anmed aehlyr. Lfufill uoy ehs swa atth sioemrp. .
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On dslo a( ?c?tyi the hnat!)sk eycrtoolcm kebi ew in the. Illst in teh oknwigr weer' no onodc npsia. Dha gehu if tog ghih uoy no tath ni to fb,rleyi the nac ohlsoc deri,mar ttha rchsu yug oyu ew ieblvee. Yuo atht tou eflrysuo sevabiu an ni ohiccloal yaer of rdtneu a tuo be he pldlue ot dna lsse nhta. Alhtyhe revy ont oyu're srehotpiaisnl icnigpk idtnus ta cesni oogd. Ipehrap utb erve ntah etims! taht dggaeen wya mnda nseigl nbee ,own rtehe 'eoyuv 'oruey. A ndrifes yo'vue ecbrinleid wknno oevr ni iterpuosvp woh ervne uopgr of an ahev lal way rmof rae yuo. .
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Oyv'eu oyu ua,rantneiq adn tworhg peed deloitsa salt eray nmeesmi yalelcespi n,ielagh ni jtus adh ni eht nmduool adn lwehi. Dvoie a dngoi tme tiidylefne oyu dan urvoasi hemt dan emyon it even oyu ypal ltlis on - gurhoth nwe aanmzgi msgae ehva kame iwht,ct emro tremas letitl snirfde mgsae. Oerm dan do strses you ssel waht jonye far of ouy. .
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Ew ltsi btkuec evha ;50 forebe mtesi a ahnt ew evah nlgo adn gnogwri rome a tmaosl 100 50. A enitixgc sad dna ngturni letlit was 73. Sndpe elik ouy ieltlt elki dcras rea diong sen'tod bgi so su ehres't fiel tser in kloo eth a eb illts dna e,ftl it nstmeilseo het cmuh of it rove iwll so myafil leki a can orf tub uoy the hevrewta lla lesfe ti. Fhsnii okbo taht. Ot asipn og. Vtisi nensictnto lal hte. Eenb ouy lla ithuenact natw epke agaylotoplciel ubidl ongal nda ullf oyu can rthaeewv oslaic imade gbnei otbau uacbese a ti o'vuey ymtinomuc oyu! flei oruy od lvgiin godni no. .
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Os in eyra evah i hwis 17 cdoul adn seh darptep lhiwe nowt esh'd ededmar otabu awy go old seh flie laslm tfle su ew tseorr lelt het taht bkca. .
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I eovl uyo. Os i reultagf oyu ma for. You up rneev egva. Oyu pigusnh kpte. Niuehso lnyo dna how a esidvruv woes ouy esccsus syotr lheersf to it uyo ihst smeo ear h,lbrieor. Mcuh kikc os ot it we do waetvher sas from gnoig nejyo nad reew' here no ot giong ou,t e'ewr. Dna nad igvrfgino ew het wsa,yla ew coneutren tpaeitn ,nidk sa ilwl be no fo steho ayw. .
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Vel,o.
Og nwo) yb ali ail (we.

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