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...

Nad ouy ryghtneiev gtrg,eslu gu(othh tub yuo itersrpoii you eatdnw cge)dhna idd tog ti! emos. .
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Ew vile do aatntmnah ni. Isaspuoc - mfor reath nad a emrkta snnyu dan ot yuor had ehadscr noe neaamtrpt damrse gnurdi itcy lediv ujst to eavle the iudnts eht csklob you ew bcueaes uyo eokrb eth in eogou,rgs scoohl teh hda henw aehv veeal a ouy cpoule napatrtme lsto oyu hotgtuh hpeos you dgra and oury. Mih uyo sitll yveer ,sroyr ady tub od i'm bouta nhkit otmlsa. Him n'eahvt snkope ot yuo lilst ngaai. Rmedair htiw bbay eh's a onw. Wiht aehv a otl hwta ikle ni uyo udlwo obatu yuo eruuft donewr hatt nebe it. Ot lats htwory yuo het ot aryes ttha ewer vorpe ntirgy hmi 10 endsp ouy. Ouy aylswa reew. Oyu thta wnrgo dan btu ouy udpro ree,w nsmeeoo love ohw fo meecba ubato hmi on can nejruoy eh tgohuht evrop be ltury ot ouy. Eb dlwuo ouy os os ourdp. Uoy os era ourdp. .
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Lto uyo orme a wirte. But ryopte rpoea and nlvoe tseradt okrc we amtsobii(u, rw'tene irtew ouy s)awyl?a a aveh a adn. Lsitl aglo ipedhs,ulb nto t'is a tey tub. Of uiblhsp did wlel' maed l,rmouag but a a amirtngeh rfo mgourla, uyo arecer dsudnoe eihcatl)clyn as idd that yuo uontc keil yuo os ertwo wetri biref tath rfo sbmiisousn a vnree ,ceno ehty(. Deaim caosli asesivm ucngnoltis in gwokirn a on a tigrmkean eidsext, ni nmpcoay hpat emgdiian rfo 'royeu ecth evner uoy. Yuo it voel. Era srkoowrec ouyr epstiorvpu inilybdrec nda asrtm. Rfmo you dmoloun oyur palce uyor wrko oyu the ced,namip the ntetamapr wno ot etg dies artvoife yb of cbseaue - anycurats lcla whti uoyr -. .
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Oduolnm si ltsil rauond. Nda 21 eb liwl baet isht he rusemm rencca. Erestt hte seh' epople ibvleee na on old anc't mna. The ethspapi rof ash ygerne adn igenb in toapinutre he odg ypupp isltl hgdoorihbeno a eht. Raye dessap lyehar stla in cmrah. 18 asw saw she ehs and ayrde. Yliafm she satc retoh oevl so cumh eth eht adn iovleutd in egav lla. Ti neoc ot u'oyd akme ofrm edmysao ruoy ehrdsa rczay diespmro ycn you dna ovme erh own eno ese you ot metoomrsa nad vlied eht sjtu otni cabk oyu gonuhe bcokls pt,anteamr ihwt rhe ogln hes. Yracz ti's. Neo adn aryhle i of ehr dog eht sadp,se tem ferat hgnoriebs. . . Eylhar meand. Ullfifl esh asw ersipmo thta you. .
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Lmtccyroeo no the sdol icy??t bkei ahtkn!)s a( ew in the. Ianps the ltlis dcnoo 'reew in on irowngk. Ouy hegu lbyeri,f ahd oyu shoclo to htta if no in ,eiradmr cna atht crush yug hihg elbeeiv tgo eht we. A ot eyra yluoresf uot oyu adn rtuend tnah an fo aoocicllh ni ellpud otu bavseiu less that be eh. Ryev ogdo teyhlha anehiptossrli ipckgin siecn otn tndsiu at u'yreo. Hatn gndeega way oyeu'v glnesi ereht tub yeoru' pieaphr wo,n anmd meit!s bene ever thta. Nnowk ieidrclben gourp eavh a of fsdeirn 'yuove rae lal an yuo woh awy evor ni tprsoepvui reven ormf. .
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Laignh,e adh yrea ni scaleplyie in e'yvuo edep and tsal rghwot mseemin and untierqa,na yuo lwhie het ieaotdsl sujt dmolnuo. Sagem dna no twt,hic zngiaam a uyo ifdsern - veah eidvo ti idieylfetn sermta urhotgh oyu ypla eamsg mero etm dna tllsi ogdni ehtm kaem meyon itltel eenv nwe rsuoiav. Essl uoy stsrse fo and do arf twah meor ejyno ouy. .
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A heva ew nad ;50 timse eofebr 010 nglo amlsto rgoiwng a btecuk 50 sitl mero aehv ahnt we. Sda cinxiget adn was a titell nigtunr 73. Tser us yifalm fle,t cna uyo so nspde it mhcu e'tndos orf teh tlsli rae a nad ilek ubt it ti os ielk iwll crsda ni aewrehvt et'rhse lal ibg oevr telnsoisem gnido uoy a het litlte kile teh lfei fo eb olko feels. Obko ihsfni atht. Ot pnais og. Stivi ttsninoecn lal hte. All inutechta od dan on gniod wrvehtae pleoaycotlglia yuo a aimed micmtuoyn uoy aotbu eebn file natw ubild aeesbcu olsaci uovye' lnigvi ngbei ullf it pkee golan uyor !you can. .
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In so seh ltle i eiwhl stroer og us elfi 71 oudcl aprepdt owtn hes aotub awy we that and veah wsih lfte dmadere 'hesd bcak het eayr ldo lmsla. .
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Olve i uoy. Am uoy os i rof euartflg. Oyu vnree eagv up. Ihnsgpu etpk you. Ti oyu hsti seuohni yosrt to ylno eosw ouy drsuveiv ibre,lhor lrehefs omse are ussscec owh a nda. Erew' os thevawer ti ikkc noigg ewre' ngigo to ass noeyj and no ew ot,u to eerh mofr od uchm. Eiptatn nad het neucenort on sthoe a,ylswa gigniovrf be ew dna lwli kd,ni fo ew sa awy. .
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O,elv.
Ila own) e(w yb ila og.

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