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...

Cehangd) uyo got tub aedntw did it! sgeglru,t uh(thog iiestprior esmo uoy uyo adn vnertyegih. .
.
We tnhmaanta od in levi. Ouy okslbc keartm royu og,esugor jtsu eno dna to aremnatpt vedli hepos ohcols athre undtis yuo mptenatar ryou asmred ltos eht - veah to uyo dnugri ascopisu usynn dan ycit adh a cuebsae shaecrd frmo leeva in ebrok clupeo drag teh ouy nda tuhotgh eavel had eth a uyo eth we nehw. Rosyr, utb him uoy tuoba lsilt mi' od vyree samotl yad tikhn. Ingaa hmi eospkn ltlis to uyo tvae'hn. Own se'h ihtw a rrmdaei aybb. Leki a euftur it lwduo in ehva otl nwdero uyo autbo you eebn whit ttha what. Atls teh orhtyw 01 ayser nepsd to oyu oyu weer htat evpor to rygnit mih. Saawly rwee uyo. He rvope emesnoo ylrut leov on of dna ot uothhgt ohw tuoab tub uodrp orgwn eebmca eoyujrn be cna mih uoy you oyu ewer, that. Yuo wdolu so eb so oprud. So aer dorup oyu. .
.
Otl oemr yuo tiewr a. A dasetrt siibtuma,o( wne'rte wls)?aay orepa we etirw crko tbu lveno uoy erpoty nad eahv nda a. Alog tye otn seudhbpli, a ubt tis' lsitl. Nvree ttah arrcee as dmae rwtei elki of (htye ubt so orf did erbfi ssnsmiibou tewro idd nht)ycieclal rg,oamul ouy cuont uomar,gl a oyu for l'wel ouy atth doundse a hspulib o,cen a ihrnmtgae. Knamtireg easvmis rof in cthe enevr knrwgio locsai no eyu'or ni a cyopman tcoinlusgn uyo dmeia a eit,xeds inegaidm path. You velo ti. Ryou wcskeoorr rea ratsm oiutrvspep iriyenbldc nda. Of oudlnom - you tge rouy ouy teh pteramnat npdeac,im beecsau llac wno tihw cpael to romf yb uroy arytncsua the - arvfioet wokr royu ieds. .
.
Rnaodu umolndo is tills. Beat 21 nda rsmmue sthi eb wlli renacc he. On pleope terest ebeelvi man an es'h het nt'ac lod. The ygener bngie eht god spipthae ash and he in a uaieprtotn isllt fro bgeooindorhh ppypu. Lraeyh in atls esapsd rhacm aeyr. She was she saw reayd dan 18. Hse hmcu lla ni os yialfm vgea veol uolitedv sact other adn teh hte. And see wiht tmp,tnraea rmomasoet ot mrfo reh nceo ryuo uoy own ahreds adn eno cyn kbca toin ilevd you yud'o she tsju azyrc lkobcs mdeprosi eomv gonl ti enghuo aemk rhe hte ot yomaesd yuo. Ryzac sti'. Gdo i fo arfet hre d,peass hregnosbi emt eralyh hte nad oen. . . Hlreya mndae. Eporims hse swa hatt llufilf uyo. .
.
In stah)nk! het the ?iyc?t ymoctlorec on kbie (a ew osld. Iapsn donoc eht ltlis nkigorw ni erwe' no. Ot the ride,rma ef,rblyi csurh htat gto gueh hda nac ni ocsolh vbeeiel fi no uyo uoy ew hatt ihhg guy. Tnha ot otu a be neutdr dan of ouy an ttah dlpuel eurolfys tuo eh yera hioclaolc ievuasb essl in. Hlhteya revy ouy'er ta odog ikpicgn tiusdn iscen tno shrtlinsopaie. Ywa etism! lingse damn taht iaherpp erve naht reuoy' evy'ou n,ow etehr ebne ubt genagde. Ndsefri a 'vuyoe mrfo of tppvruosei gruop iinbdelcre wya wonnk rvnee haev in na ear hwo vreo all uyo. .
.
The oghwrt eylclepais nad adh liweh epde idoealts dan jstu mimesen raey ni olmound astl ni ,euitnqnraa nlgai,he uyo 'yueov. Htguroh no emt aekm tmeh mseag etnidyelif leltit t,hiwtc avuiors emgsa znimgaa dna ouy yuo dniog vene fdinsre a and new it sreatm apyl ioedv haev listl remo - enmyo. Do arf omre of eyonj elss dna stessr you htaw oyu. .
.
Itsl gnol cukteb brefeo 05 vahe ew ;05 and athn ew 100 ahve mlsoat a reom ggoiwnr emist a. Swa nrigtnu nda ntgixcie dsa tillte a 37. Cna leltit iongd adn hteser' thavwree radsc loko chum eesfl fe,tl so eht leik ifmaly ubt uoy nspde leki be vroe bgi ti so eht of lla itlls teh estr you orf lief ti a 'ontsed a ti motsnseiel are like ni llwi us. Fniihs that obok. To go sianp. Eht lla vsiit ineonnstct. Eilf isloac ynciomutm epek etwhvaer watn y!ou uoy cna ebgni oruy od ucbseea livgni lla uoe'yv deima ti bilud oubat nad ouy nbee tyealoclpgliao aetchnitu noidg no oganl ulfl a. .
.
Ew tdpaerp hweli eltf rrtsoe os awy tlle hse could i go malls ayer ehs amerdde nda owtn iwhs kbac thta dlo abuot us ni ehd's teh ehva 71 lfie. .
.
Vloe uyo i. Rfo so ma rutagfle i yuo. Uyo agev ernve up. You tekp gspnhiu. Ecssscu lyon hist a aer nda roilerb,h ysrot ti owes ot uyo uesrivdv hleresf uoy some nuseohi ohw. Ginog to sas od t,ou ti here jneyo os r'wee to ngoig veaetwrh ew rofm nda rew'e hmcu on kikc. Awy fo sheto ew dan no patinet ew sa llwi be dna vgngiirof dki,n het unceenrot lwsya,a. .
.
Eolv,.
Ail e(w w)on by lia og.

This user has written an update to this letter.To see what they wrote, please

Write new comment

Load more comments