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...

Idd ti! ghadnec) rsgetlgu, you ehvneyitrg awetdn adn gohhut( itsoireirp uyo tgo tub omse oyu. .
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Od in ivel we nhaaamttn. Ebsuace ttpraaenm oo,eurgsg choslo had vahe ot het aeelv oyu teh nda sjut in a to ciyt keamrt hda het rfmo gdra noe sotl we oyu nda darsem nusyn uoy wnhe oslbkc uitdsn - eelav haret idnurg hte spsocaui ercsdah uoy a eohsp your ernapamtt ocluep vedil beokr ttuohgh uyo oyur adn. Rrosy, do litls imh uoy lasmto hitnk 'im tuaob reeyv yda btu. Imh oskpen anaig oyu to iltsl e'nhtav. Aybb 'seh wno a merardi whit. Ti hatt a tawh aevh ueufrt keli obuta erwond loudw eben iwth you uoy tol ni. 01 mih yeasr nigytr hte hatt oyu ot stal uyo yrohtw esndp voerp ewre to. Syalaw ouy wree. Nca utoba uoy uoy eh ahtt you wree, ovel yrunjeo of on meoeosn cmeaeb ot be how evpor ihm ultyr uhtgtho rgnwo but nda dupor. Uldow uoy eb so dourp so. So yuo era uodrp. .
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Emro oyu lot a tierw. A yuo ehav iwret daetrst and sl)aw?ya rcok dan trw'een eopar we m(bo,atusii tbu rotepy enolv a. St'i tub listl a gloa eyt lbdhsep,ui nto. A so ga,lrmuo a as )ainlyccelht e,con elwl' ma,gourl ednduos uyo vnere like bpsuhli did brfie ttah ddi rfo you made utb (tehy uoy a sisouminsb witer aeercr of atth utcno rof ewtro irhenatmg. A neevr tlncisguon eimnadig cthe oaicsl orf tragnkime ncpmoay ueo'ry amdei uyo athp ni a iknrogw ni no svimsae is,eextd. Voel uyo it. Rrwcooesk pevrtuspio nrlcdbiyei rmtas nda yuor aer. Royu omoundl veotairf pcela yuro sebucea by het hte you auanstrcy llac iwht cdamnp,ie ot uoy - of krwo etg rmof oryu ised now - natatmrep. .
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Ruodan is slitl molundo. Etba be he htis lliw nad 21 earccn esmmur. No elpepo odl atnc' nam s'eh eht tsteer an bieeelv. Ryeegn pyupp a gdo eht trauntiepo ash epasipht gioobhnrohed ibgen in adn fro hte ilslt he. Arhlye spsade ni arye lsat rcmha. Wsa radye was hes and ehs 81. Geav tasc hmcu maiyfl eth ni os teiudvlo esh eht theor lal adn elov. Livde hre nteamtpar, one idserpom eadhsr stuj keam yuo ycrza nad uryo hiwt yu'do nwo ot you ti engohu mofr dna see the ouy cny syeaodm ovme nceo cbak erh toin to she locskb lngo rmeomsota. Sit' azcry. ,sespad ryhlea hre dna hrnsgiboe tem het i eatfr dgo neo fo. . . Maden rhelya. Hatt uoy lfllfui aws poisemr hes. .
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Kn!)hast ebki a( ?tiyc? dlso the ew eht ni rtcleycomo no. Rwkoign lstli ncdoo e'wer no the ni npsai. Ot ahd slooch ew ouy edrr,iam nca no gyu ttha got urshc high fi hegu het eirflyb, that uyo beevlei ni. Ot eh entudr arey adn na rylefuos fo avbeusi out otu hatn a htta claoiholc you esls lludpe in eb. Yvre tno udsitn ogod pertisolhiasn rouy'e pncgiik ta scien hleahyt. Egilsn tub wya thta ehtre uoery' pipreah eu'oyv angedeg htna eebn own, ndam esitm! vree. Are you edfinrs frmo rgoup lla ue'vyo beedrinicl ohw na fo vnree eovr a roetsuvpip ni wya veha nwonk. .
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G,lhiean wlihe euqn,tniara in nda uoy ni peed eth oev'uy dan nodolmu lsta ohwtgr stuj emesnim raey tdaieosl dha lsaeyclipe. Yuo listl maek dngio and have a tme ,ctitwh thhogur - eyftliidne ouy nazmaig rsiaouv even measg ylpa eorm htem mnoey litlte efsnrdi semag dna it on ewn eiodv mesrta. Adn ssle afr uoy emor uyo rssste whta od neyoj of. .
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05 esimt 010 ew nlgo a a 5;0 list ermo rgnwoig ew saomlt atnh aveh eoefrb utkcbe nad have. Urgnnti 37 a iixgtcne was nad dsa llteti. ,felt ti os ni felse lslti a uoy esrt reseh't for so ti ilwl all fo nodig erov npdes scdar a eht oolk ikel eilk tsde'no hte mchu be lkie hte ear itosnlseem uoy nda it us ifel can arehwtve lmfyai tub gib elltit. Ttah nhiisf okob. To og napsi. Eonnntsict teh sviti all. Lal nda touab vehatwer ifle u!yo anc oury no od it iuhtcntae yuo oalng sebucae enbe lgiinv aimde uoy lcosai oymcimtun ekep uoyev' dnoig a bliud antw llpeagicloaoyt nibeg fllu. .
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Rrsteo oatub edremad whsi 'sedh the 71 hes ltfe adteppr ellt raye vhea atth lfie lsmal dlo ew os su i tnwo hse awy wlihe ni dna og dcluo back. .
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I uyo vloe. Eltugraf ma for os oyu i. Uoy evag up nrvee. Ihgnpsu pekt oyu. Ouy smeo honsuei ohw rea hsti erselfh eows suvedriv ytors ti yuo loyn to rr,oiehlb ucsessc a nad. We gigon od 'erew rhee so and mfro ut,o ass r'eew ingog ojyen on wvrhaete to kkci to it hmuc. Ptintea be eshot ew the dan of sa awy kdni, nda ay,swal on wlli ew ntrcneoeu ivgnirgof. .
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Leov,.
Lia og wo)n lai yb (we.

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