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...

You vhrtgneiye ewtnad oiirptresi ogt yuo uoy eurgs,ltg mseo naecgdh) !it tub dna htoh(gu idd. .
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Nattanahm ni od we eivl. A nusidt to - eouggr,so tareh the ehav ofmr ehpso eht tlos daecrsh evael taamepntr ryuo ouy teh yuo adh elvdi aermsd lhcoos igndur yuo nda avlee itcy tghuoth uryo newh okerb oyu ot nad het ni dah trmaek uoy we dgar a nsuyn nad scopiaus oen kblcos uolcep asceube tjsu tmnperata. Yrosr, yad osltma aotbu ubt imh 'mi nitkh litsl yever uyo od. Aniag ouy him ksonpe na'hvet to lsitl. Adeimrr wno bbya se'h a thiw. Tol in oldwu you butoa aehv ornedw thta kiel ti wtah tiwh nbee a ruetuf yuo. Rgynit were 01 rayse him eprvo ahtt ot uyo het rhwoty psden uyo alts to. Wyaasl ouy rwee. Oyu eh of cna batou tbu evorp ouy rw,ee yrlut be ot dna abecme orpdu htta you ihm ooenmse rjneuyo who lveo ronwg on htgthuo. So dorup oluwd os eb uoy. So udorp uoy are. .
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Olt a iewrt uoy erom. Ahve uoy rietw buasm(,oiit leonv a utb tdearts and kcro a ew wn'eetr a?l)awsy ertypo nda apeor. Aglo 'sti sitll a utb hsildb,pue tye nto. A (yeth idd ahtt fo ,nceo as upbshli rfo ,lomgrau ikle rcraee but iobinsumss atth ddsenou etrwi lcl)hentcyia el'lw eamd a rahgmetin a yuo nvree wreot fro you yuo bfrei oualgm,r ddi so cntuo. A knirgwo oicsla amiiedgn ni vieasms a ahtp verne rfo ngmitkera nacpymo no ni uoy tidex,se ointnlcsgu 'ryoeu aiedm hcet. Uoy eovl ti. Dan orcsekrwo rievouptsp your samtr ryldeiicbn are. Lcal atsnrcauy plcae tge oyu baeusce to wno vitraofe uryo of by tmaeprnat - oyu deis picn,mdea yoru iwth your omrf hte het owkr uodmlno -. .
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Is uadonr olnmuod lslit. He tabe eb 21 ancrec lwil dna siht rmmuse. On ebelive ta'nc tetres eth olppee anm 'hes an dlo. Rgeyne gbine hte eh rof a stlil irunopteta in ogd nda eth yppup has oriohneghbdo tpihesap. In tlas sedaps mrach eayrlh yrea. Was adyre nda esh saw hse 18. Lal ni tacs so mifyla mhuc troeh gvea teh and het loev she ouldevti. Gehoun ysomade hes ot own htiw oyu uoy diesopmr orfm dan eht sjtu one zrayc kblosc tartmea,np ync erh mvoe maek see akcb ydou' otin srehda eomamosrt erh it ivdel uory and neoc nlog ot ouy. Zryac s'it. Noe eht ayerhl ogd met i nad des,psa efrta reh fo nobsihgre. . . Admen yelrha. Atth esh esroimp was llfiluf yuo. .
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?yt?ic ni ew ocorcemylt bkie olds eht on the h)a!tnsk (a. On ltlis pasin r'eew iokrwng teh ocndo ni. Ot in oyu brlyei,f oolhcs rdmir,ae eth ttha hgih ew tog atth yug on eevlbei ouy uhsrc if cna guhe hda. Less ryeufslo lholoaicc tou in llpdue fo and ayer eh thta athn a an abiusve eb ot nedurt you otu. Doog situdn nisec kipcign at 'yreou nto ryve alhhyet ipialetssornh. Eethr lsngei nggeead atth own, eben dman reuy'o tub 'yuove tnah vere ayw epihpra msie!t. O'uyev era uoy ywa aveh a stepuorpiv mofr evor ni hwo an wnkon guopr of erndsif deibcerinl lla venre. .
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Eth eyra a,tanqirune had epesylclia eimmens 'ouyev in stla ewlih ,hnaglie you hogwtr epde in oulomdn dan lsaeitdo juts nda. Aaimgnz and dngio oived no aegms nda stlli mte ouy neev ti yfnidlieet omre - a nfriesd wen hvea eamk enymo ypla thcw,ti ieltlt mresta maesg tehm ohtuhgr ouy riavsou. Do nda nyejo reom of tessrs uyo tahw lsse yuo raf. .
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A foreeb ilts nda we 50; gigwonr 100 ew hvea aolmst etukbc than a ismet eorm aehv ongl 50. Dsa a tiellt gxnitiec 73 was nda tuinrgn. Iogdn etrs uyo keli lal ti a hte eth tosnemiels of fesle pesnd nca nda eevhatrw ilef tes'ndo oyu era eb su hcmu bgi os tllsi telilt it os ielk roev t,lef wlil teh scrad lamfyi ookl h'stree but orf a it in kile. Okbo sihnif hatt. Og pnsai ot. Ietcnonsnt het svtii all. Do oclisa all uyo and it a tucehtani uyo lufl binge ndigo mdeia hvewrate no esacueb ekpe gnalo tillleyaogpcao touba 'yveuo eben ryou ublid nca natw mmntyoicu lefi gvnili yu!o. .
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Wnot lcodu ahtt nda yaer dol tobau hse telf roesrt ckba in i hse llams vhae llte ehd's 71 go su lfie ew wsih eredmad os daetppr wlehi teh ayw. .
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Uoy oevl i. Yuo so i am efrgltua fro. Uyo egva nevre up. Ouy npisugh ektp. It reefhls hsit a swoe are nshoeiu rotsy to ebir,orlh rdisvevu cesuscs emso yoln ohw uyo nda ouy. Fomr hcmu e'ewr so iongg ssa o,tu dan eehr inogg njoye weer' wretvaeh ti to on kcki ew to od. Nteapit no eb we wya nkd,i eth eeunrnoct nad as dna ew sawla,y liwl fo irfivnggo ethos. .
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V,loe.
Ial o)nw w(e yb go lai.

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