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...

Nda gotuhh( did yuo uyo !ti hcegadn) some watned otg utb uoy yehivgetnr uelg,tsrg priioriest. .
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Ew atmahatnn eilv in od. Nuitds oyu a the yict tuogthh ucpleo lvedi ehva shepo hasrdce we uyo dna adh fmro you ueogg,osr oolchs yuor solckb stol tremtnpaa evale eht avlee in to ynnus oyu adh eucabes rdinug - sutj hte eamdsr a rgda akretm isacpuso ptaemtnra royu oen bokre nda tareh hewn the to adn oyu. Mhi yeerv 'im hiktn ady but aubot od msoatl yrro,s oyu itlls. Him yuo to iagan tlsli 'ntaveh neskop. Idremra ihtw nwo a yabb esh'. Rtufue uboat ouy ahwt it ni been lto ordenw dlwou veha uyo with keli that a. Tlas woyhtr ot sayer 10 epovr gyirtn ewer npsed thta oyu to him uyo eth. Rewe aawlys uyo. Ogthtuh lvoe touba eujryno ewr,e bmeeca atht hmi opurd ouy on rnogw oeemosn tub dna operv turly ouy ot of ouy be nca owh he. Drupo os eb lduwo os ouy. You porud os ear. .
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Eiwtr more a uoy lot. Aepro w?ya)sla a we a 'tnewre veha you rokc and witre orpety oevnl utb nad ,ioabium(ts eadrtst. Litls si't alog nto blip,uedsh tey a tbu. Befir taht fro os sa (eyth llw'e rof a did aemd ocutn klie weitr a uyo fo umosbssini grhanmtie idd bpiuslh you tbu a tlhlicya)nce eaerrc renev rotwe oul,grma auol,rgm oecn, thta odsunde ouy. Idmae a ncyopma uoy oialcs ofr ikatnergm ryoeu' thec path a in imvessa eet,sxdi aiemdgin kgiowrn on nogtcsnilu rvnee in. Uyo ti olve. Ilbidncrye are nda rsepuiptvo satmr oyur werrcksoo. Rtieaovf ouy clal uoyr teh elcap eucebsa korw aedicnp,m sdei eth thiw noomudl of - yuo tge wno royu mrof yuor ot eatmrnapt - yb tnsycraua. .
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Undloom tills is ndaoru. Teab hits cencra remums 21 be will and eh. Eht on an belveie polpee ldo 'ntca seh' amn ttseer. Odg hsa pyupp rheogoihnobd the a tpsiheap ntiouparet eh enrgey hte giebn ni orf llits dan. Cmarh yaer ni aslt dsapse lyreha. Was nad aws deary hes 18 seh. Muhc etroh eth seh in asct oeluditv voel lla vgea ifmlya so eth nda. To cyazr aosyemd oenc cny teh rhe form emak you ouy otni ees nlgo ot one dan aesrhd uoyr wno hes masmotore traptame,n utsj slckbo meov akcb uy'od dan you egunoh iwth pisdmoer it rhe ldeiv. Acyrz si't. I her dgo met ayelrh sd,seap rnsgbihoe ftare and noe the fo. . . Yhrela menda. Eimsopr swa htta luifllf uoy ehs. .
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H!)asntk the (a slod teh on ni we omcoyctelr ?i?cty ebki. In ree'w the woikgnr ooncd on ltsli spnia. Emrrda,i erlf,yib ouy tog on ni cushr you ot gyu we hghi htat that anc slhoco fi gehu adh libeeve eth. Out sles osryuefl luelpd erutnd ni fo a eb you yaer tath eh to tou and bvsuaie na aloocihcl nath. Stiudn iikpcng ncsei sieplotshrnai ryve ue'ory ta not good ytealhh. Eenb n,ow erev lgensi !tmeis egaendg htree ywa amdn evo'uy ttha arehppi tbu ntah 'yuoer. An evro ayw vpurpiesto aer uye'vo knnow rupog aveh a reevn iceilnebdr oyu sdinfer how ni lal fmro of. .
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And snemime wotrgh adn hewli 'eovyu yuo odunoml juts lh,iegan dha ldotaesi peed icelaleyps in innut,eqaar teh aslt ni yrea. Lapy rmeo no nda dan mte hgohtru a zinmaga yonme emka dngoi ht,tciw - etillt hmte even ewn fenleiidty rfinesd vaeh illts setram uyo rsuvaio ti esmag idove ouy semag. Of ouy uyo hawt fra jnyeo orme sels do ssetrs nda. .
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Mesti ahve aomstl we aevh 100 nda tsil riogngw hant a emor 05 05; obrfee logn bkcetu a ew. Untrnig igtcexni swa a nad asd illtet 37. Ielsometsn fro the flie illw of siltl it uyo snd'eot nigdo so teh all ltfe, a keil sacrd veor ielk eherts' oolk hcum utb nad so big faylmi acn erst ndspe ti su in eht ouy ekli aer efesl a it ltilet awvteerh eb. Nhisif koob atht. Aisnp ot og. Hte ntetnincos stivi all. Adn on lla becasue ouy o!yu ifle twna evwhreta uyor nvligi oyu emiad it cnitoymum genib eepk a uoatb do aiuchntet nca yovu'e pailyolcgatoel gidno bildu flul ocslai nagol bnee. .
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Wshi back thta emdeard hiwle file uocld left eray esh hvea pdreatp btaou i 71 in wya esh su wton we ltle go d'seh dol nda os reorst eht llsam. .
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I evlo uoy. I ma os rfo oyu lfgrueat. Reven up uoy vage. Ekpt pgsniuh oyu. ,blreihor deirusvv dan hsti otsry elfrehs it rea to nsheuoi osew uyo olyn uyo who secsusc a esom. Do omfr tveewrha to ass ou,t hcmu er'ew enoyj ckki we it e'wre so nda oingg ngogi no eehr ot. Be eth on of aalwys, dna as dan we wlil ovfrgngii pittena seoht dnik, etreoncun ywa we. .
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Velo,.
Won) og ali by lia w(e.

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