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...

Eoiiitrprs ti! but eoms oyu ghadce)n edatnw got you huh(ogt tegrsg,ul teynivhger nda uoy idd. .
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Natahtnam ni do vlei we. Nurdgi rmfo uyo dah spaucsio penmattar ekrtma eno het yuo tyci uoy ahd rebok tmertpnaa the vaele to eht ni nda rsdhaec thtghuo hvea ethar to ouy eposh sunyn yrou a and - the gard dliev ostl ehnw ealve sntdui uyro slchoo nad rose,gugo sutj dremas acsueeb scbkol colepu ew uyo a. M'i eervy but llits y,rsor yad btaou lasotm mhi do hintk uyo. Opnkes to nah'etv uoy him aniga lltis. Ybab irdmear won ithw s'he a. Tiwh lkie ahev aubto ouy uyo a dlowu in thwa tol that ruteuf onwerd bnee it. Psned ot atht yesar weer het oyu yuo erpvo gyrtni to slta mih htrwoy 10. You wlyaas reew. Uoy cna ot prveo on gorwn seemnoo rudpo btu hhgotut beacme ahtt ovle be yuo truyl you fo yoenurj hwo he dan e,wer mhi oatub. Oyu dlowu eb uodpr os os. Are uordp you os. .
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Lto oyu wteri a orem. A we a?ws)yal and rtyeop iosti,u(mab 'rtewen korc dna tweri vlnoe a evah preoa stretda yuo tbu. Tub sti' ton still yet olga a h,eisplbud. Wtore ddi ifbre btu taht ar,guolm fro twire oyu of areerc a ekli a did h(yet ellw' sa mead ahtt ncout a silphub ofr eenvr co,ne r,auolmg you osmbiuinss you os )tcnycaielhl nehrimgat sdenudo. O'urey pyaconm hetc enevr you gtnoisncul phat ianrgmtke a aeissmv rkiwgno meanigid iaemd ni ni xsetdei, on a rfo soical. Ti yuo oevl. Tmsar oyur adn era rdebiylcni repitpvuos cwsekroor. You eth eisd krow lacl lapec wno rouy etg yuor n,cdieapm olumdno maenrpatt - - mrfo fo teh by ycatsruan iwht to uyo rietvofa uroy beuseca. .
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Istll aordun is mduolno. Be hsti ebta 12 dna cncare lwil eh ermmsu. Na on odl bielvee anm rettse oppeel 'ehs 'tcna the. Hte geyern gbien orf adn ltisl he hsa htaepsip a dog nbheoohroigd ppypu in etuitprona teh. Eayr ni ehlyra spdsea lats arhmc. Hes nad hse asw rdyea 81 wsa. Ehs astc so the dna elidoutv toehr hte gave hmuc lla ni vole liyfma. Tnoi azcry see onec to kmae mp,rtaneat oyu ti hwit lkbsco ot ycn teh rhe and oryu hgoeun ouy eysdoam emov u'ydo yuo atsmeomor stuj ivedl dna omiprdse eahdrs mrfo onw she erh cbak one nogl. I'ts zayrc. Fo met ae,sdps i yahler hre gdo ftera het eon ihsongbre dan. . . Hlreya dmean. Taht lluffil yuo seh swa presiom. .
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)nhkats! the bike lcoymreotc sldo yt??ic ew (a eth no in. On giwnkro eth were' ni pasin dnooc sltli. Yuo srcuh ttha dha on you ighh ew slhooc leievbe idr,rmea ahtt in gto uegh lf,ryeib if nca ot guy teh. Yuo yera olilochca esls be a urdnte of that pllued he na in to auseivb otu uto dan naht folusrey. Ta evry godo haltyhe roe'yu kinigcp sheirtlinpoas udstin tno escin. That treeh awy ou'yve eerv roye'u ngegdae namd rpeipha been btu es!itm hnta islegn ,onw. Decinerlib ofrm nokwn ear lla ndreifs haev na a in vore uoy ohw speouvtipr ev'uoy of yaw neerv gopur. .
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Alge,ihn eyar slat miemens ielyscelpa dan ni trhwog the r,aqiunaetn adh pede oyu in juts saeilotd uy'ove hewli and odmlnou. Haev - sgame sltli neifdsr mteh arusvio oymne ainmagz dan kema sgaem ndigo etillt you uoy on t,tchiw paly new nad tem ti a fdneytleii vdoie erom vene urhohgt marste. Od of neyoj estssr yuo ahtw far you oemr and sels. .
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We hvea we a estmi 100 50 ;50 efreob eckutb asoltm woginrg nad a mroe evha lnog tsli athn. Gneiitxc a tnniugr and sad aws iltlte 73. Klie eht elif esrt uhmc you iekl ods'ent over us fro can ilwl leeisotsmn oignd so ni a it it llsit dan lttlei ear lla weevraht so amfiyl but scrad het olko eth fel,t big r'tseeh ti sdepn lfees a ouy of be ilke. Atth nifsih obok. To siapn og. Lla hte otnnctsnie sivit. No o!yu vareetwh oyu amedi eebn lgoan nawt do ruyo nogdi obuta libud acgloielaltoyp adn ifle uichnttea o'uvye all aisocl it nca gvlini ibegn a cmotnuiym you flul cseuabe ekpe. .
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Ayw daepptr mreadde bkac 'hsde su etlf teh hatt liewh ni go llet ntwo btauo nad feil 17 so haev i we hes ihws olduc esotrr almls seh yrae odl. .
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I leov ouy. Am i for alutfrge os uoy. Evnre yuo pu vgae. Uyo epkt uhgpisn. Ohw meso dna a lhferse sowe hits era it you eouihsn soryt dvivsuer olny to uscssec you oilrehbr,. To no ,tuo rehe w'ree gingo warvteeh ew ngiog ssa kcik cmuh os njeoy ti morf and do ot rew'e. Ew fo apteitn no nad adn sa gnriifvgo alwy,as onecternu lilw ayw ,kdin be ew hte etosh. .
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Leov,.
Nw)o yb lai ial w(e go.

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