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...

Twdena you gcenha)d gto nad evirgtynhe emos hgtuh(o tiiosrrpie ddi !ti elgsutrg, uoy tub ouy. .
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In levi we od htanamnta. Tslo a iedlv unidst ni sdehcar oyu eno ytic tgthouh kerbo form - ot teh agdr snynu a ealve uyo royu dna lveae het nad pseoh raemsd ocshlo the hda oyu ot hreta yoru bcsauee giurnd taapertnm ew nehw mtrtenpaa hda het nad trekam ahve epuolc jstu gogse,rou uyo ipsscuao ouy ockbsl. Oyr,sr tiknh hmi tub auotb uyo eyrev 'mi od dya tlamos lsitl. Htevan' eskpno hmi uoy to siltl gania. Iwht own abby a mderrai s'he. Uwdlo uyo eenb atbuo reufut dorwne like ouy vhae wath a ni lot wtih it tath. Ouy vepro 01 yohwtr trying enpds eewr ot to ihm that you eyasr eht aslt. Wree yuo ylwasa. Eolv to ouy he oujyner ltuyr owh cbeame nrgwo yuo oesomen hhutogt ouy dporu mih eb taht dan utb of atbuo reopv acn ewer, no. Be duorp oyu os ulwod so. So prudo yuo rae. .
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Olt a roem ewtir oyu. Dna tdrates aroep a lonev rtoeyp evha ew ouy aa?)ylws kroc tbu ewtre'n tweri nad atsmobui,i( a. A its' lago nto ltils ,lphbdiues btu yet. Fo rua,mogl fro oyu tbu lhubisp a taht )ctllhncieay ty(he brife nmaehigrt cerare n,oec busmnosisi nutoc ikle ttah a omla,urg idd nedosdu woter reenv mdae as you a fro wrtei so ddi you e'wll. For in a edigamni sgiutclnno aimed a r'euoy uyo phta ni ilaosc t,idseex nkrimgate nvere kgrowni saesimv yaonpcm no hcet. You it oelv. Ear ryielbndci nda scrwrkoeo uriotsvpep uroy atrsm. Ruyo vetaorfi - dsei uyor nwo eth acll gte aeimndcp, mrof aynsutrca owkr hwit ryou eesaubc munldoo pamentatr of het oyu by oyu paecl ot -. .
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Arndou si lslti oudmonl. Aetb 12 hsit semmru cnacre be lilw dna he. Odl het tcn'a man elpeop na tterse no she' ievleeb. The gdo itlls pepahsti has pupyp he and nigbe ni eth yrgnee a orf ebidhoorgonh treinupota. Ni aslt yehlra rmhca yare adssep. Was 18 hse adn swa ehs erayd. Ehtro miyfla eth lla in hte toudievl adn os geav sact mhuc esh leov. Ouy mdaeoys eoghun olcksb tsoarmeom ustj seh eonc ti cazyr srdmopie ot thiw yuo mvoe make dna ttpnaea,rm ncy itno adn one won ees u'yod eth frmo to ersdha kacb her ivdle uryo uyo gnlo erh. Ycraz s'it. Teh obshgrnei nad eyrlah i erh tme aretf god dassp,e of eon. . . Emdan rlyahe. Aws pomisre ouy fllulif ahtt hes. .
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Teh in ??iyct kbei on (a ew olds !skh)tan the oyelroctcm. Lltsi snpia het 'wree gnwrkoi no noodc in. Ot ew taht ogt nac csolho iblevee gueh oyu hte ygu thta ifylreb, in em,diarr ucsrh on uyo if dha hghi. Ntah yroseluf uot ssle llduep etudrn lloiaocch uyo ayer eb atht uieavbs to tou a eh in dna an fo. Rvye dusnti escin ckiipgn at ogdo tno rhaipeltinsso heyhatl ue'ryo. Me!tsi ourey' reteh eilgsn ueyo'v atth tahn ehrpipa erve nggedea yaw tbu neeb namd ,won. Eoutivsrpp ayw na yuo fiesdnr idrcleebni all voer fo roupg oknnw ouv'ey ohw a ear ofmr in vrnee eavh. .
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Het oyu dha lhiew nda utjs emiensm iylpaleces ulmodno ealitsod hwrgto in slta eyar ni y'uoev pdee nq,irteanau dan glan,ihe. Ti iodve sllit emth rasiouv sgeam ,ihtctw sametr ouy etiltl - new meak eevn veha emt nomye oemr saegm nad on iynieldeft gouhhtr mizngaa ndigo and nisderf yuo a lpya. Oyu fo ouy rome fra less oyjne hwta adn etrsss od. .
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Onlg omre cetkub ltis a veha oigwngr we ;50 we osatlm tnha 010 vhea borfee 50 eistm dan a. Sda asw rtnginu nda xenictgi a 37 etltil. Ikle lefi a wrhevaet leltit ti aliyfm etsr cdsra lkie ni kool are gondi uyo a iltls teh be tdso'en seefl so the it for us utb and rove yuo ikel it the cuhm so ehetrs' of gbi llwi t,lef lla pesnd nca ilomeestns. Nsiifh htta okob. Go aspni ot. Tvsii nniectonst the lal. Lal o!uy od laogcplloyitae full ginbe pkee scebeua iniglv nad uvey'o uory been ratwheev uyo no oynucmmit ti fiel hitneutac libdu boatu iaedm oyu ingdo nca nloag a twan slacoi. .
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Toersr hiws ilef abck dreadem nad yaw loudc ltle hweil lfte 17 i have nwot ew ryae slmal so tath 'hdes dpapetr she dol obuat esh eht su go in. .
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Olve i ouy. Regftual am uoy rfo os i. Up geva ouy vneer. You gihpnus kpte. A eirh,obrl yuo secsscu sowe it emso yuo owh ouseinh ear only to thsi eirvvsud ehsfler soryt adn. Hree onyej hmcu nggio ot sas adn ti rwaethev ,tuo mofr od cikk on os wr'ee oggni we eew'r ot. Tsheo we aiepttn be asaw,ly nad etnrnoceu adn the fnigiovrg ,idnk lilw no as ew fo wya. .
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Lv,oe.
Won) (ew yb lai go lia.

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