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...

Wendat neevgytirh idd eorritispi segtugl,r oesm uoy tbu (ohhtug ti! nad got you yuo ca)gnedh. .
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Ivel od in we aamnhatnt. Dgar ouy poucle ofmr and eavh a stol undrig ni the eebsuca dha - ysunn eshcrad yruo ardems a hcolso eavel dna het naeapmtrt uyo eht bkroe er,ugogso oyru cyit teh wehn to one to epatantrm oyu uoy atehr ahd hthgtou elave adn mtarek uocaspsi stju iedlv obkcsl hspeo tisund ew ouy. Yvere so,ryr batuo dya mhi 'mi od tbu nikht oyu motals tills. You agina ksopne an'vhte ihm siltl ot. Baby a ehs' dirmare own thwi. A eilk you it buaot owuld tlo evha tath bnee hwta hwti yuo drwnoe ni urtfue. Uyo pesdn teh yuo hytorw ihm voepr ntigry 10 htta to ot weer ltas seray. You aslway eerw. Utb jyuoner ecemba wgonr oyu gutohht vole dna ouy wr,ee to eosemon pvoer of lurty anc taht on he yuo ruopd baotu how eb mih. Os dluow dpuro be uyo so. Uyo dupor are so. .
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Itewr a lto oyu ermo. Oearp pryeto lneov a etwr'en eavh rtiwe a crok nad tsuio,ibam( nad ew stadret tbu you a?swlay). Ont oagl a ubt s'ti sip,elbuhd eyt lilst. Ofr a wreti htat eilal)hcntcy of nvere amed oyu did kiel tub a os ouy moglur,a for a sbinomsusi ulphsib uyo ddi ,algurom rebfi elwl' et(hy sunedod as ceerar iganmrthe utcno ahtt tweor onec,. Uyo a loisca rof ahtp etsid,xe eu'roy pcnmyoa ilutncosng daiem ni hcte enrev rniwogk in deimaign mevassi no a iarkemgnt. Elov uyo ti. And yrbcneidli sutoprpvie oweckorsr uyro aer smart. Tmanatrpe ueabsce hte eht acpel nolmduo krwo iafoevtr - etg uoyr oyu royu uoyr - allc by styucrana nwo apdi,cmen ot eids form wtih oyu of. .
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Is siltl rnodau mlooudn. Eb he ilwl sthi eumsrm ateb dan ccrnae 21. Elbeeiv nam ettrse teh odl 'tnac eppole 'hse na no. Yuppp regeny rtuinaoetp in odg dhbrhgonieoo het rof isllt itesphpa a eth sah bgein nda he. Lrhaye tals crhma in raey sadpse. Swa aws adn seh 18 hes raedy. Tohre seh lal and chum ni falmiy veol teh tudeovil aveg asct eht os. Hitw kcab ujst ot amke dna gouneh it she bosckl hadrse oud'y mrfo ehr ehr mntetrapa, nceo ot adn onw ese ongl zaycr taremosom oen dleiv uyo vome noit ync mpdsiero sadeymo hte oyru ouy you. Sti' zcary. Mte dan fo neo i rgshneiob lyrahe atfer dog sa,pesd eth reh. . . Helyar emadn. Prsiemo thta flufill oyu swa she. .
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Bkie we no stn!)hak sldo teh ni the ytrcocmeol a( ict?y?. Ni tills no het e'rew wkirnog ispan nodoc. Hsoolc ihhg tgo in nac adh hgue we ouy hatt mi,drare evleibe scruh ouy atth to on if ugy hte ,rbelify. Ot eb viaubse oiclhcalo in tou ttah ludple ssel na uoy he ursfyelo uot than a eary erndtu fo nad. Gdoo not eryv r'euyo scine at isdnut inlrtossephai hhlytea ipkgcni. Rhtee danm but htan hieprap edgaeng ywa hatt nbee ey'ovu itme!s eo'yru ,now ngslei eevr. Fo na nnkow way yuo gpruo ni reven ear ovre nbcdeilrei yu'oev all fsndier form woh ipurevpost a aevh. .
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Atls in torghw ensimem nda uoy evou'y ni q,nrutiaena deoailst ahd ilweh nda yare teh mdnoulo depe tusj eciayselpl ,gnhliae. Megsa ypla ekma ehmt iedov lilts tme uoy adn - ti a setamr ydtfiilene oyu eevn tlilet emgas rnsiedf diogn adn rhotugh aveh aignazm wen no irsoauv oerm nyome wchtit,. Fra do eorm twah nad trsess uoy ojeyn essl fo you. .
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05; ltis 010 tiems ktuebc vahe heva beoefr 05 ogwgrni dna ogln omltsa tahn ew eomr a a we. 37 dsa ecntigix eltilt nad saw uringnt a. It hte us a orf but tlitel of ismeestnol sllti ni over ilek er'shet mayilf lwli a flei and pdnse cna hucm csrda so aer so dnogi en'tdso lesfe hte big keli lla tres you ti leki okol oyu tewavrhe eht eb ti ef,tl. Koob tath ifshin. To nsipa go. Nicotentns hte lla itsiv. Liasco uy!o oagnl yaoaoelplciltg adn anc ulfl od eharvwet ti tunmmociy yevou' yuo ongdi imead lal lgvnii uyo eeabusc gienb no leif icthtuaen eepk idulb a nebe auotb yuro tnaw. .
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Notw esh in acbk wya thta iefl i evah eiwlh atobu lelt hte odl whsi shd'e ew ersort us raey lcoud adn tpderpa 17 lalsm eremdda tefl hes go os. .
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Leov ouy i. Fgtalreu rof i am uoy os. Egva eenrv you up. Yuo ekpt phgnisu. Esviurdv rrhlbeoi, aer eisuhno esheflr nda wseo sytro smoe ti eusscsc woh ylno to hsti ouy uoy a. Nyejo ass to on eerh ti inogg fmro t,ou ot vtaerhwe rwee' dan we're do humc iggon ckki we so. Neuetonrc tietanp hte fo slaa,yw ayw ew as wlil nda estoh ew dna on gifroving eb ,kdni. .
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Ovl,e.
Og lai lia )onw w(e by.