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...

!it idd uoy utg,slger ubt soitrirepi nda got you )cdgnhae huhtg(o osme uyo trehvinegy adnewt. .
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Liev hnatmnata ni od ew. Tsol had uhttohg the eavle dan ni bkeor eht leaev atmrnpate you hte tusj aepmttnar bklosc psheo yict oyru hwne iaocpsus aemdsr yuo a eht gudrni rgad oyu uynsn trakem dan one caeshrd you we aehv - ebsecau dna tidnsu you omrf to opcelu a ,esoruggo harte uoyr had loohcs ot veldi. Ouy stlli od abuot vyree ady imh otalms htink syror, utb 'im. Nksepo you gaian hatve'n ot imh tlisl. Twih rrimaed hes' nwo a aybb. Uoy eruftu wnroed tol ni eenb iekl uoatb awth oyu evha duowl ithw ti hatt a. Ovper edpsn to ttah itgyrn to asyer eht ihm yuo were 10 yowhtr ouy alts. Ewre ywsaal you. Tuoghth emosoen dropu eh meceba but can ,rwee onurejy to uabot rnwog nda uoy on ouy be oelv of mih atth hwo uoy uyltr rvpoe. You so eb so uowdl rpduo. Are so rdoup ouy. .
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Iertw lto uyo rmeo a. Oyu we a orkc nad re'tnwe tbu eroap ahve olnve iwter edratst biti,so(amu ywas)?al nda a torepy. Pbsl,udieh tye a nto s'it lltsi lago but. )eythnclcali twreo a htta of oa,murlg htta ishplub ndduoes yuo sa enc,o erecra ddi fribe but a y(eth thanimgre wl'le did so for a edam ntouc ouy orf neevr smoinibuss ewitr ielk ru,goaml uyo. Et,xsdie vrnee apth asiloc uoy in uoyr'e ognrwik a amirtekng rof mnaegdii in cpmoyna on sisvaem utoscgninl a idema htec. Ouy lvoe ti. Ear ylbrieidcn adn mtras oury ropipuvste esrrkwooc. Tayasnrcu onw uyro lalc - faveiort nlmoduo yruo etg uoy eht iwht oyru lpcea sdei nmpateart - ot frmo by fo aipc,ndme usbeaec wrok het you. .
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Is sltil oldounm ornuad. He atbe rceacn emsmur llwi 21 and eb ihts. No pepoel eth 'she blvieee ldo setetr an anm tn'ac. Saeipthp adn rfo teh dog ni tilsl eneygr igenb he yppup ottpeainru eht a sah odhrobigenoh. Rmahc spdsea eayr in tsal eayrhl. Wsa saw yadre 18 dna hes hse. Mcuh in vdeuiotl dna os the vleo aflmyi teh tsac vage ehs teohr lal. Hnugoe erh maek ti glno bakc otin dan to noec tjus eomdasy hes ortsmomae ouyr mfro adn uyo bcsokl uoy twhi nyc ese ryacz edrompsi voem esrahd uoy to one pemart,nta wno the ievdl rhe y'dou. Sti' zcrya. Of nda emt i es,spad god one igbnresho eftra lhreya rhe the. . . Eamdn lhaeyr. Hse thta asw uoy mpsiroe lulfilf. .
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Rocyclotem on (a )snhta!k eth we sodl eht iyt??c ebik in. Isltl in 'ewer no odonc isanp wgkrnio eth. Htta uyg mrdirea, atht hda ni nac got ,bfriyle suhrc oholcs yuo eghu high ot teh if no vlbieee we you. You oclclahoi fo adn na he etrdun lses otu atnh eyar that a be ot eudpll in ysfolure siuveba otu. Ta odgo ont icesn iipkgcn yeu'or yhlahet utdsni yevr ailsispheornt. But ndam on,w teher ilesng danggee sietm! htat apreihp reyu'o been vere wya 'vyoeu anth. Aer lla an uovey' rfmo orev evrne of sdnrfie yaw in neeblircdi evah yuo grupo wknno hwo ptvpuroise a. .
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Sleadtio you while ltas hte in tnraaiu,qen mlonduo aling,eh yera rtwhog plysaieelc yv'euo mmenise dah ni eedp tjsu dna adn. Mte emka maigazn ti refidsn ethm huorhtg eidlyftnie dnoig a ctih,wt lltis you uyo - aypl no nda vhea rmeats veen mgaes dan oievd new meyno vsoauri agesm emro littel. Raf do uyo tahw ssle uyo mero noyej srsest adn fo. .
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Rebefo 001 mseti ntah tlsi keuctb a evha 50; more a lngo 50 we dan ionggrw we aevh tlomsa. Nda illtet unrngit ncegixti aws a 37 sda. Rveo fo eht a lkoo utb ose'tdn sret ofr rdcsa 'ehrset humc aer kile itsll teh ouy the so a epdns ti iteltl it llwi in lla lefes ilmayf eifl yuo telf, eb su indgo it ikel os anc eonlssmiet ielk dna ibg arevwteh. Okob ihifns taht. Go to naspi. Tnonnsciet lla the sivit. Godin you! ecueabs lla uory dliub full hreaetwv anc bene midae uoy buaot and nawt it egibn no iefl ngaol lgeaylcptoiloa a od cnittueha lcoias ivgnil ouy ovu'ey utminomcy kepe. .
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Hse 71 feil ttah wish odl ni ocudl og i strroe us tlle so seh vahe hlwei lmsla e'hsd atdprpe aery hte and etlf ayw adedemr botau wnto ew bkac. .
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I uoy lvoe. So rfuletga for ma you i. You up vneer vega. Phgnsiu yuo ptek. Ystro owh nylo a rvdsuive oems cuesssc osew ot ouy flesehr yuo o,elhribr aer it dan souehin isth. Ot nyoje it no nda nogig ot eer'w od ut,o eehr so noggi muhc rofm ssa 'weer cikk we eewhvatr. Ingvorgfi as ayl,asw no teh llwi eb nad dan of ew tpaetin wya kdi,n crenenuot we hetos. .
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Lv,eo.
Go w(e ali by lai wo)n.

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