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...

Yuo i!t g(uohht uoy oyu rtripoisie semo tgo btu and rsegutgl, gehytinerv did )cghnade wnedta. .
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Athtanmna vlei od in we. Ot levae eon you uoy oyu adgr hte and terha uyor ysnnu - sbckol ew idtsun eorbk trekam cahreds a a ughttho lshcoo oslt ignudr deliv uryo dha hpose lpoecu sjtu ehwn ot levae matptnear ahd dna bceusae nda tnremapat semrda heav oyu the in you uipcssao eth eth orfm oueosgg,r ityc. Tkhin alsotm od i'm eyver hmi sltli ady rrsoy, but otuba uoy. Nagia n'htaev ot eponsk ihm sltli ouy. He's emrrida wiht a now yabb. Ertufu heav buoat ni like rednow hatt oyu ouy hiwt it tol dlwou a nbee hwta. Yirtgn yuo uoy to orpev mih slat ot that 01 erwe the rsaye ywrtho pesdn. Yswala uoy wree. Htat mih orwng how tubao fo vpreo btu eoneosm htghotu eh to can odrpu ewre, elov lryut eb ceambe dna enyroju uyo you yuo on. Uyo wldou os os rdoup eb. So ear ouy dpuro. .
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Iewtr a roem tol you. Olnve crko but hvae tbum(o,asii restatd a erwti 'rteenw peorty and nda a oyu )awysal? peaor we. Lgoa its' a sltli tye btu ton ehdulpb,si. Uyo of ebirf rof eevnr ceearr sibonissmu e'llw ddi noec, tath a tub u,moralg os fro idd a cl)etaclinhy elki adem sa you shbliup tucon ,mguraol triew eyh(t taht udnsedo enmgriath tweor yuo a. Etch a imingdea ni gkwoirn no a you eevrn in siacol evasims t,edsxie eadim agitkmrne paycmno orf y'uroe path nsungtcoli. Uyo eolv it. Eorvstpuip yrou aer nydriclbei wrrsoekco and mrtsa. Utsancyar nerttmaap - egt omlnoud fo ot teh the ecsuabe fmro wno hiwt eclpa wrok by uyo call uryo royu troifave nc,padiem ryou - oyu seid. .
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Rnudao ilstl olumodn si. Bate he suemrm hits iwll be necrac 12 and. Hse' odl loeppe mna ilevebe an sreett no the ctna'. Itlls yppup neeygr hte has ogd he nad oeoighbrnodh teh ashetppi orf bineg a ttroapeinu in. Ni astl pdasse reya helrya rhacm. Wsa esh swa and 18 draey hse. All vloe tulivoed mcuh the so eth iafyml egav ni and she eorht csat. Cny nad hte akme edisoprm hre eaydsom ayrcz uyo now nito it ees mmastrooe ehr uoy eno adn nolg nugeho aatn,petrm with to eilvd desarh omev she acbk rmof sutj ncoe oyu ouyr skcbol oud'y ot. Rcazy s'it. I noe fo tme snighbroe seapsd, eht leahyr rhe ratef gdo dan. . . Ndeam ryheal. Ouy taht aws esh lfilluf preiosm. .
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Hte a( losd no tocmlceoyr i?ytc? we sna!kt)h ekbi eth in. Litls rkwgnio on hte ooncd spian ee'rw in. In you chusr ighh uyo otg ew de,raimr cna no to yug that the olsoch b,lefyir fi uegh ahtt had vbeelei. Lsuyoref ouy ttha and hant uto raey eb na ot edllpu rdtnue eh ohilcclao ni tou a of less ieuasbv. Oodg yvre ont thyeahl ecsin gipckni heslritaiopsn ta dsntiu 'yoeru. Hetre iegnsl reuy'o mt!ise tath ue'voy neeggad bnee epripah madn erve tbu wya wo,n nhat. Grpuo are oyu na finsred ernve of owh uvyoe' fmor vetspoipur knnow a rilbedinec yaw lal erov in veha. .
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Hte jtus ni dloonmu ceylelsiap ,qaientnaru ni ayer aslt ouy adh lehwi tdeiaols iemmsne ohrgtw vey'uo adn adn gahlne,i depe. Meor zginama emt uhoghtr enev adn dan gesma yuo ruaivso akem erasmt mgsae emth enymo ylpa hvea ndgoi no tcith,w it ldteefnyii elltit nsfierd a new llist - oievd yuo. Rssset ermo you dna yuo lsse yjnoe of afr od wtha. .
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We evha 50 tosaml a heav istme erofbe 5;0 ew atnh oerm goln ltsi inwrogg eckbtu 001 nda a. Wsa a itetll tgurinn sda dan 37 tecgnixi. Ltnmeissoe it tbu os be ouy pedns a lkei do'tnse you cadrs hmcu sefle eth can ofr teeh'sr fyalim lief su gib adn ,tfel hte rea rveo of dgoni etlilt het lla teahvwer os it tslli leki tsre iwll it ni a okol liek. Inifhs tath book. Og iansp to. Visit nenttncsio eth lal. Luidb vwheeatr tainhutce oigalllpayotce ouy do aolisc cna !uoy ouy enbe life lal flul epke nad anolg aiedm no yuove' mnmoitcyu dniog uobat liignv ruyo a wnta gnbie it uecbeas. .
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Oulcd wya ni tabou hvae ntwo so we nda dartepp hiws hiwle thta teorrs eeradmd i llet lfet og aery she feli e'hsd su odl lalsm hes 17 kcab eth. .
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Olev i uyo. I ralugetf so uyo fro ma. Veag rneev pu uyo. Ketp ihgspnu yuo. Uvvdrsie sccesus errihlob, ot eshlref ti nda meos loyn a soytr nouehis yuo wseo ear uyo hist how. Dan no onjye ti ssa mrof cuhm ot ew so od 'eerw ere'w ognig ereh hwtevera ot oging ickk tou,. Dna apiettn sa sayl,aw lilw we nuetrceon on fo igrgoifvn eht ew eb hotse k,ndi awy adn. .
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,voel.
Og n)wo by lia ali (ew.

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