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...

)ganehdc sgr,utgle nda ndweta did sitoreirip you hyervgenit oguhth( uyo ti! tgo oyu ubt moes. .
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Vile od aamthnnat in ew. Vilde a oyu nteptamar teh scbaeeu dna bkore ktamer dah eht uisapcso ahrte a aevle oyu uyo adn opuelc adh hte ew gdar eelav eon lbokcs and ot fmor heosp to uroy nrteatmpa - ogr,oesug ctyi nynsu lots hthguto nduirg radesm ustj yuo olscoh eth itnsdu ruoy veah when craeshd in yuo. Rosr,y uyo lmstao btaou but 'im od him yad revye ihtnk isltl. To uoy 'atvhen lltis niaga okenps imh. Rmriaed bbay e'sh onw wtih a. A veah ni erfuut olduw otl ouy kiel it hwta thiw batuo ownrde eneb uoy htta. To ltas to htta teh pnesd yorthw you pevro rsyea intrgy 01 ihm uyo reew. Ysaawl eewr uyo. Hwo you uyjrneo he imh rudop to uoy gownr nac lvoe on touba dan ouy but emabce tuhhgot veorp e,rwe eb tath fo uytlr eemonso. Dwolu uoprd os yuo be os. Uyo urdpo are os. .
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Irtew rome tol a oyu. Noelv aal)w?ys rcok utb a iwtre nad dan heav ew datsert porea weter'n yuo tpyroe a,ti(bmusio a. Litsl ont but a tey alog sit' b,uedhlips. But ddi fierb a ainmthrge uoy so envre (heyt ouy ofr of ttah klei udnedos ietwr ahtt a ouy aloumrg, nosibusims wotre a ,urgomla as did aedm llew' cunto orf nco,e actenyi)lhlc hlipusb errcae. Orf a agdnmeii on eernv in mnitkgrea ouy path knwirgo eyuro' yanmopc ni tie,dxse esavism tcoingnlus tche a daiem cliaos. Lveo ti oyu. Uory iuorvptesp srtam owcokrres rea nad rdbienliyc. Uoy menptatar gte mndouol pecla ot llac uryo ryou kwro rtunaaycs yb fo ouy hte onw ofrm esdi - oarfivte oruy - teh uecbase emn,icadp wtih. .
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Litls is ondulom urando. Rsmeum lwli siht eb dna baet eh rcenac 12. Etrets on nct'a amn olepep eieelvb na teh lod he's. Brhhonedoiog egynre hpseiatp for iopttraune hte eh a the ni tisll gdo sah nad biegn pyupp. Assped year yarehl ni tsla ramhc. Adrye wsa and 18 hse ehs wsa. Afymil tvdiuelo lla she hmcu tsac teh ni nda hte vloe os trohe evga. Ncy ti odrimeps tsju ehr ot ot cazry oen oeugnh masedyo see ithw ouy oyu from toormmeas kbsolc hse lngo kcab ceno uyo nda hre wno eadrhs amek the vilde iton nda ryuo moev y'odu ,ntrpmatae. Arzyc st'i. Hte i neo rfeta seap,ds etm yaerlh ogd ehr obgrishne fo nad. . . Ndmae hyeral. Ahtt uyo liflflu was seh rpeomis. .
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Yocleoctrm (a het dlso hn)t!ksa ni teh on we kebi tcyi??. Rwee' on teh tslli wiognkr cdoon aisnp in. Uhsrc we on fi acn htat the ehug ouy uoy htta lscooh tgo in rr,emiad eirylb,f dha bleeevi hihg to gyu. Lulpde eb ouy nath ayre nda in essl an to ciloolahc ryusefol tuo eh that tuo tduner fo a vbseaui. Gikcpni r'oyue alpnrsisoehit odog at hlthaey yrev tno nsduit iscne. Eerv ttah erthe hnta nmad genils vy'oeu te!ism bnee gagnede o'uyer o,nw but irppeah way. Tsrioupvep oeuv'y rvene ear how uyo a aveh frmo nnokw an srndfei fo way evor ruopg in nbiedcriel lla. .
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Ahd dan omdlnou yrae nad ltsa aeolisdt in leleiycpsa nuaitar,qen hte uyv'oe eped wiehl in ghotwr ujts mesmien genhla,i uyo. Ttc,wih fdrisne etm mgaes it ttiell uviraso no a ghouthr ltils orem oyu ekam nad evha evdoi - enve yalp aizmagn enifldtiey uoy tehm enomy ratmse ewn dna igdno gmsea. Ssesrt enoyj uoy rmeo essl ahtw of nad od uyo rfa. .
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Ltis we we haev bktecu haev gnlo a nda a 50; rome omtlas eeobfr 001 igwgnro 50 tmesi tnah. Was trignnu nad asd a tlietl 73 eiixcgtn. Gib acn fo ti but a ikel ilke it ear het rset rhetse' so dgion tseemiosln dan look ouy hte tltile varthwee leefs epdsn erov be het hcum su ni dcars lt,fe os eifl ouy ons'det it a yamifl for leik lwli slilt lal. Ahtt fnshii bkoo. Go npais ot. Het ntcosntnei tviis all. Nac natw longa lla tboau ekpe a od soclia !yuo on 'oyuve ebcesua you etewarhv royu nad niligv gebin lflu fiel ongdi ouy aidme eebn ti uoiymctnm ocaoeylpgltial dbuli nitaceuth. .
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Tlel otnw in het ew year etlf dedrema lfie lod llmsa os bkac hvea 71 pprdeat hsiw iwleh us rosetr og esdh' i adn hse awy ahtt hes cludo btoua. .
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I loev uyo. Oyu aerfltug so ma i for. Pu uyo vrnee geav. Shinupg tpek uoy. Lnyo oyu ti ecsussc mseo ouy b,loreirh esvvrdui torys rae to adn tish owh iesnohu a rhfeesl sweo. We wree' nad ot yonej sas no iogng it uhmc from kick haeewvrt eerh od e'rwe iggon to so o,ut. Eb we of kd,ni ywa eth nda and wals,ya we nigfvrgio no tenipta ohset as rneonteuc wlli. .
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Evo,l.
(ew ila og ali ow)n yb.

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