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...

G)eahdcn nda irsriitpoe idd ubt etvrhnigey uyo emos uoy yuo gestglu,r !it otg ough(th detanw. .
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In evil htmntaaan od we. Dhacesr nhwe a in cohlos rmapttnae het we rnigdu hhtgtou elvea ucapisso ggo,rosue a ecabuse nad poesh veldi yitc you eucolp fomr dearsm ot uyo uoy evlea solt ryou tmaker ot duntsi pnattemar dna ehva eht ahd ysunn oen ouy nda eht eth dha juts terah yuor obrek yuo grad - lbcsko. Tobua roy,rs uyo yreev i'm but nikth mih tmlaso do ayd lsilt. Ot gniaa npkseo oyu ta'henv ltsli mhi. Ihwt byba won ademirr a h'se. A futeur ekli bnee ouwld veah rewond ni itwh uyo thaw it hatt bauot otl yuo. 01 esdnp hmi oyu rovep nirgty to yraes to eht that alst ouy hryotw weer. Ouy were aawysl. Owh duorp uoy on uyo utb be er,we uyrnoej gthuhot ot orgnw htat ouy he bouat vpore ceemba mhi of nac ovle nad lrtuy oemenos. Rupod woudl os be oyu so. Yuo rae orupd so. .
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Oyu tlo a omre wrtie. Newe'tr ubt ?ayw)asl okrc a oyterp uyo stetdar rtiew a iutmba,oi(s ehva ew volne arope dan and. A tub ont 'ist sitll ety dlseu,ibph ogla. A as a that nreve tounc osnibsusim orwet os yt(eh yuo beifr rfo a orf liek plsuibh onec, dmea ddi recear o,ralumg ouy ttha narehtmgi el'wl of btu eudodsn ddi g,armuol wrtei altcniylhc)e uyo. On nkiworg gaetnrkmi iasolc ceth eassimv stngcoluni a e'ruyo dmaei nypomac ofr endgmiai in sdxeti,e uyo tpha revne ni a. Ti oyu elvo. Roscekrwo oyur dna byrelicdni era pitopuesvr ratsm. Baeucse oyu uroy i,dmacnep by llac egt to - omfr eptnatmar wkro eht yuro ised cnyaarsut you fo own - the iofrvaet oruy cplae ldnmuoo twhi. .
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Illst aordun si loomndu. He adn wlil memrsu tish 21 be rccena abet. Cnta' on eertts man elveeib oppeel e'hs het dlo na. Slitl dog hte he tsaheipp and hte tnuaotipre ni orf sah rgneye ghrhoibnodoe uppyp nigeb a. Lats ni harcm reay assped rayhle. Erday seh 18 seh saw adn was. Lfmyia in vleo esh adn so the chmu ctas gvae ouitvdel all teroh het. Oen and hre amesoyd sjut keam ees tteapman,r rhe the ouy adn to uyo with ocen it yo'ud ouhgne eivdl rofm oeoasmmrt wno somriped hes mevo dahers ckab oyru uyo ntio okcbls ogln ot yrzac cyn. Sti' ayrcz. Het nad eno ohnsiebrg erh taefr emt i ralhey fo ogd dssa,pe. . . Elyrah medna. Asw oyu ehs llfuilf that oemrpsi. .
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Sold octcmroely ?tcy?i ikbe in ksnht)!a no we the a( het. Kronwgi in on 'ewer inpsa odcno teh ilstl. Ot rsuhc ,ideamrr yuo cna if that taht socloh ryblfe,i uoy lbeeevi ew in on het ygu otg high dah uhge. Locohclai oyu dna tnha eabuivs in a ssle arey of hatt he uldlep otu eb na to duetrn rlfyoesu out. Hhleaty yu'reo tsunid enics kipingc dogo at ryve otn istrplisnheao. 'yevuo dmna erev bnee edggean ,onw tnha awy prahpie iglsne ehrte ttah i!stme rou'ey tub. Ayw rmfo 'vouey rptoivpuse nvree ervo a an ni lal noknw nedrcbliei are rougp dfrnise fo who ouy heva. .
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In oyu arey ahd in sjut omulodn oilsaedt and adn plieceaysl tue,raanqni naeihg,l memiens eov'uy gtrohw peed het lats lhiwe. On it uoy voeid even and whcitt, dan evha - tem ouy slitl viuaosr gdnio a elttli strema meka hutgohr alpy oemny measg orem sgaem enw hetm iyineelfdt angmazi sfnedir. Sesl sesrts ouy orme fo od hatw fra uoy nad yjnoe. .
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A 010 vhea a gnwrgoi etmis 50; ew list nglo nad we heav tahn efbero 50 omre tlaosm butcek. Xtenicgi tletil ntngiru sad swa 37 and a. Big os acn uyo lal oerv iwll ouy ti eht elki e'erhst esonsmielt selfe 'sdonet dgion hte rof chmu us ltlsi eb flaiym asdcr elif but ,ltfe hte ni tlteil era dan ehwrvtea kloo sret a so liek it it of ekli a dsnpe. Taht nhisfi kboo. Anpis to go. Nsicnentto het all sitvi. Lgnoa oyu on ulfl ruoy ngibe abuot file budli epek you od rtheewav vlingi cna iatocgloeylpla dogni evuyo' all mytnmiouc dan demia yuo! a olaisc want ucsabee enbe ti tnteacuhi. .
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Ldo rrsoet whsi i ahve 71 in ocudl tonw lfte and we abkc aeddrme ewhil aepdptr llte mslal botau taht he'ds go reya hte ilfe os hse us esh awy. .
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Ouy vole i. I os am ouy turglafe ofr. Evga uyo evern up. You pket pnisghu. Rheesfl uyo it sscecus lerhb,rio era rysot yuo to vvsuedri ohiesun loyn tshi a emso and ewso owh. Ignog form to eew'r on ssa kkci it to so ejoyn nad vherawet re'ew ew igngo eerh uto, do uhcm. Ew teh kn,di ywls,aa on gfvgiroin ouenerctn we ywa lilw niepatt fo as otesh be adn adn. .
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Oe,lv.
Ila go yb o)wn (ew ali.

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