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...

Nad egdhn)ac idd rigevtehyn tog andtwe lt,grguse tsiiporrie it! you smeo uyo tub hoth(gu uyo. .
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Do hnaattman in ivel we. Ouy dna ebcusae uryo rgu,oegos uyo okreb oyu in to utisnd your yuo tusj dan amders drag het to terakm het you - teh lots hda yitc a ungird elvae had ew csehdra fmor tothhug ehwn hoeps cpiassou have lshooc ildev cluoep kbocsl unysn a dan eno aeelv martptena het tnptmeara rhaet. Ouy ,rrosy utb kntih alostm itsll imh day eyrev otbau im' od. 'theanv kpesno ouy to ianga hmi illts. Aybb won rierdam hs'e htwi a. Lto twha fetuur eavh you a ni oyu dnrewo hatt ti wtih obaut wudol ebne elki. Imh to to syaer oywhtr were oyu that 01 oyu eth nedsp rveop yngirt atls. Swlaay uyo rwee. Orwgn of and mih eonurjy uabto poerv you oyu uyo htat meoesno who ee,rw hottuhg be eh tbu beemca pordu tlruy loev nca no ot. Os yuo os rdopu wudol be. Podru so era uoy. .
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A otl yuo iwert meor. (a,tmsbuioi wsa)l?ay etatdsr vaeh ovlne dan nad tub pryeot ertwi eertn'w yuo a we rcko a oarep. Tsi' a illst otn yet laog ubt bhpu,dlise. Fro imhrganet sddneuo tierw ocn,e nmbuisioss eiayllcct)nh a rreeca btu os 'lelw as of hlspubi emad a a klei ahtt uyo gu,ramlo h(yte ibefr did etorw uyo nouct ddi you revne agru,lmo rof htat. Atph olisca ,dseixet nerev a rkoinwg no uoy 'eruoy yapomnc ni fro iianmgde amnikgetr ni ltngisnuco a saesivm htce daiem. It leov uyo. Yrou rstam ndbiylreci era rskoewroc dna uvsprotipe. Sebacue thiw edsi oyur leapc amrtnaetp aacutyrns teh - acll rfom eaimcpd,n ifeortva work eht by mloduno oyru oyur fo uoy - ouy egt onw to. .
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Onaudr lslit ulnmodo si. Lwli ateb cacner htis 12 eh eb rseumm nda. Pepoel ebeeilv mna no tacn' restte dol e'hs an het. Sha trpuanoeit for inegb ilstl he dgo hgroonodehbi teh htappies nad pppyu in a gynree the. Stla ni rehayl rhacm ayer esspad. Esh aws aeyrd aws 81 adn she. Theor agev the csta nad seh os lveo eht ni eilutvod ucmh layfim all. Ot ycn dahser emka idlev eon romf twih oruy nceo nuehog yo'du uoy oevm see penatrm,at oitn her uoy eth sdyaome nda msrtaomeo nda reh stuj it slkboc uyo nwo to imsroepd hes kbac zryca onlg. Zcyar t'is. Hre etm eht oen i larehy freta dgo ,sdsepa of oshinrbeg nad. . . Admne haerly. Was uyo romipes atth lfiflul ehs. .
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Ew het no a( n)stak!h lods ibek lcmootrcye ??tciy in the. Iasnp in oncod no sltli onikgrw 'ewre eht. Atth cslooh uyo teh we taht in ahd id,rearm fi ruchs eveeilb i,lfbrye nca yuo ot gyu no ihhg ughe got. Of a tou in lupled elss tndure eh ot vuabeis dna na felryosu uot hant yuo erya atth lacihloco eb. Oe'ury tlhyhae pknciig at ncsie inustd lihirpnotsesa not doog yevr. Euy'or but ielsng vyeo'u ipparhe dnam eben tnha atth ywa gnegdae ever nw,o me!sit ehter. Lla aer ifrsden ni edcnirelib uoy yaw ervo of woh ueo'vy onkwn eprvsoptui na ehav a mrfo evren ogrup. .
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Ayelpilecs iwelh dna vouy'e urananeq,ti uldmoon desaltoi nad juts niseemm heil,ang rowhgt adh lsat eped oyu aery ni ni eth. Adn thrhuog ti uoy yuo wen emht diove ndgoi a hwictt, ekma teltli meags ypla sdfnier ermtas eavh neve lsilt adn asuoirv deielyinft aaimgnz ymone - gaems orme no emt. Fo uyo thaw raf erom njeyo dan erssst do elss uyo. .
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Olgn ;50 erofbe ew orme 50 a eavh stmola eimts slit tnha 100 a buteck and aveh we oiwnggr. Teiltl 37 gtixeicn was a uitnrgn dan ads. Ni ti eetrsh' look rfo csadr mlafiy the os ouy file su uhmc dna goidn a ear wlil it dsepn llsit cna leomneisst ielk of vhreawte klie a teh vreo letitl btu hte big lla ti uoy eb eslef tefl, os estr odst'ne ikle. Koob hatt shifni. Ot inaps og. Lla eth csoiettnnn tivsi. 'uvoey gebin od cna lal meadi ou!y lfie enbe ekpe uyor eaecbsu oisalc ti mcuinmoyt yuo uyo a awnt nogdi no aotbu udbli veahwtre gnoal aalyocolepitlg lulf adn tcathnuei gniilv. .
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Ucdlo og old veah she tonw rtsoer eht us reya 71 kacb ew so fetl welhi ywa i eilf hd'se eatprpd amddere in tath uotab and ihws etll hes llsam. .
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You i olve. Uyo os i ma agletfur orf. Yuo pu aveg nvree. You ignsphu tkpe. Iehnous era yuo a htsi ouy to sryto rflehes yoln ohw it cucsess eswo euvvrsid smeo dna ,elorrbih. Reeh chum ot it no ass eerwtvah oiggn enyjo ofrm oigng eew'r to dan do u,ot ikck ew so ee'rw. Eb way as we lwil on nkd,i eth we toshe nda neetnuocr taietpn ay,wlas of adn ogfvirngi. .
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Loe,v.
Ew( by go no)w ali ail.

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