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...

Utb smoe ghtu(oh yuo vnrietghey otg rioiitspre !ti uoy )gdaehcn did oyu ednwat eslrggut, dna. .
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We lvei in mathantna do. Arhecds tnemaptra ew hnew hte sioascup - adh tatrenamp ni srdmea city oyu to caseube ingrud vedil heart dha eht heva ouy dna dna krbeo cksobl guthoht ephos oyu lost oyru dnsuti ratkme a argd puceol eno teh nad the leave aevle ,geoguosr ryuo mfro sujt ot lcohos uyo oyu uysnn a. Y,osrr do lsitl mhi oltmsa oyu im' tnkih tbu yad ervye otaub. Psoenk ltlis ihm ot nigaa nhvta'e uyo. Hs'e onw wiht a abby midrrea. Ebne waht that a lto urtufe lkie oabtu iwth veha lowdu neodwr oyu ti uoy ni. Pesnd tyorhw to opver yuo tasl teh rasey hmi thta ot ewer yuo 10 rgynit. Uoy ewre lwsaay. Htat fo be oevl reovp pudor nac you oeeosnm yuo rutly ojyenru owh nda he oyu abecme wgrno ewre, imh ot no uhotght tbu buoat. Dwuol so dupor eb uoy os. So you purdo aer. .
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Uoy otl meor eitwr a. Toyerp a ouy utb adstetr adn w)l?yaas orck poera aehv ne'ewrt dna tiwer we neolv mtab(u,siio a. Ilehbs,udp a otn llsit tub ogla tey i'ts. Btu atht ilek of uoy sa you ctuon o,cne htta dudenso ddi a nevre a adem did ofr a etwir well' isbphlu etorw ahtmgneir you te(yh rraece ierfb orf ruamglo, smnsoibuis so ylaniec)hclt ,golrmau. Yuo a knorigw a egaiidmn chet on visesam ni atkgirnme for 'euyor niontlgcsu amdie tahp etsx,edi nampyoc eervn ni olsaic. Olev it uyo. Dan oevrutsppi rndiliecby uyro era wkrroosec marts. Hte of egt clal oryu sedi dp,cmanie yb ubeaces ouy rneaatpmt - thwi modnolu suaacntyr - frmo aeitfvor hte uryo nwo palce ot ouy rowk oruy. .
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Oandur is tsill lomodnu. Hsit wlil dan be 12 srmmeu tabe cercan eh. An eettrs vieleeb nac't eth eoeplp s'eh ldo no man. Rfo he in ltsli boeihogndroh ahs and pppyu a nbeig eiapptsh dog eht het ngeery nerttuapio. In armhc yare ryehal tals dapses. Saw erayd and swa 18 esh hes. Hte eagv ni rthoe eth miafly os lal dan leuitovd tsca ehs hmuc elvo. Itno you het and adn veldi kslbco ouy your ot ees nolg one hre to yrzca wtih ti utsj eyoadsm eamk nyc dpmrsioe bkac tn,ramtpae tmrmeoosa she ncoe form ehr you dehras now 'uody omve ouheng. Cyarz its'. Odg teh relhay i reh heogirsbn noe fo artef etm nda apd,ess. . . Eanmd ayhrel. Asw htta mroiesp ouy she llilffu. .
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Ti??yc !stkhn)a no oymotrclce het odsl in a( hte kebi we. In erew' teh npasi on dnooc tlils wigornk. ,eriamdr gyu ylriebf, ot we eibeelv ogt fi ucrsh no ahtt ni dah uoy the htat ouy hhgi huge closoh can. Uofylres ayre fo ni iausebv uot to elss out ldleup nad a na you eh eb deutnr lailchcoo htan taht. Cipingk tsanieolhpsir at reyv tnusid e'yuor not cnesi godo eylhhta. There yu'ove way athn but ginlse egdaneg aherppi u'oery mand ow,n htta reev m!itse bene. Eibriendlc 'ovuey vaeh rofm orev iosprtpveu ni uprog lal a era an dinfers renve woh wnonk ywa fo uoy. .
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Hlena,ig jsut hlwei nlumood ryea slat oatsdeil hwgrto depe yuo adn adn in cpelelsayi 'euvyo ahd qannu,arite het imesnme ni. New rivsoau vhea more and neev apyl tgruohh a inyefieltd no uoy veiod rstmea litlet monye emsag mkea ehmt gndio ith,cwt rnsiedf - tem gzamina and it yuo easgm tslli. Do fo sestsr sels afr nad ermo uyo uyo wath njyeo. .
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Glno a ntha rowiggn 100 tbckue tisme vhea and 05 saoltm a ehva 0;5 we ew ilst omre feerob. Ietxgnci gtirnun adn a was sda 37 elltti. Fyialm wtveaerh tesr it igb su utb ielk klie ofr edsnp a adn lfie eflse tlitel istenslome scadr lilw anc os het lal of be vero mchu a ni ,flte the iognd ti het stlli liek uoy era you os 'tseond retse'h ti lkoo. Ttah okbo snhifi. Og to npsai. Inentostnc teh lal vsiit. Uoy no yev'ou onidg taaeololgpicly ldubi omiyucmtn eadim gineb efil ueaebsc nctuhaiet vinlig oabut want acn eenb evewrhat do lanog flul cslaio uoy! adn a uyo yuro lal pkee it. .
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Us ehs telf tath iefl wnot iswh tlel ewhli go haev ayer almsl dna hes the bcka so in rsteor eprpdat uotba mrddaee yaw odl i h'sde ew 17 oludc. .
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Vloe i oyu. Luaerfgt oyu fro am i os. Yuo erevn up eavg. Ptke sguhnpi ouy. Yuo oyrts ti oyu nda evudvrsi moes to aer loyn a owh hneiosu ihlrboe,r iths fseehlr woes scesucs. To od eehr ehtarewv gonig w'ree ckki on gniog yoenj we ,uot fmor umhc ssa to so it nad wr'ee. Y,wlaas we as on dna fggiviorn ywa fo knd,i ew oehst ncetueonr eb tpiaetn nda lwli het. .
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V,leo.
By ial ail (ew go n)ow.

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