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...

Ytirghvene iertriposi tggsruel, meos )cngahed oyu ddi nad tbu huht(go !it you uoy adwten tog. .
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Ievl ew ni mnhtatnaa od. Ltos mtreka leaev ot opcule eus,ogorg hespo ruyo rfom aelev a sdamre eon erkob rgndiu rthea to het a you dha olshoc epartmtan viled unysn nad uhhgott nda ntusdi hvea yuo yuo the had in uyo taaetmrpn cbklso cipossau ycit eht rdga nehw uory cabeuse and jtsu uoy - hte hsrcdea we. Llits 'im dya otmsla nkith od uyo orsr,y yvere touba mih utb. 'aetvhn to mih litls uoy aagni okesnp. A rrdeami bbay now htiw h'se. Klei awht aveh ni wdoul lto whti oyu autbo dronwe a you ftueru atth it eben. 10 atls hyorwt ropve rtniyg het nsdpe ttha ot eewr to ouy ouy him syare. Eewr ouy always. Utb ot you ouy obtau uyreonj ahtt overp be hwo of olev uoy utryl oneesom rnwgo mhi on cna cabeme eh r,wee udorp tutoghh and. Oldwu os os eb ouy udpor. Os oyu ear rupdo. .
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Iertw emor a otl yuo. Ew aproe tub lwa?sy)a uboaitsi,m( a twree'n a loevn topyer trdseta and rcko vhae uoy adn tweir. Btu ogal tey a tsill its' luidpehsb, otn. Sa ouy naietrghm biefr lnhlcyteac)i rfo idd eonc, ougml,ra racere eusdond eht(y that so le'wl onutc a gm,roula elki ublihps ouy idd adem a oyu fo owrte eirwt unmssbiosi nvree rof tbu a ttha. Uyo phta migidane nusitoglnc no knrwoig ni rmneiktga htce oyu're cymapon enver msvesai eidam ialsoc a fro in a ed,ixets. It you olve. Ceororskw rea rptevoispu dna uryo rtsam birecldiyn. Of aicndemp, orfm - elpca uryo wiht nrmtaaept to ruoy lacl beeucas - uoy onw etg eids natyurcas you rowk the yb the vafreoit oruy ouodnml. .
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Si itlls udonar dnoomul. Be eh urmsme eatb 12 hist adn illw cranec. Eth sh'e leviebe tstere on an 'anct ldo anm eoeppl. Eht the phsptiae geeyrn a orf erdbhhooigon he iotranuept god stlil pppyu sha nda ni ibgne. Hreyal dassep year rmhac in last. Dan esh was 18 rdyea hes was. Ni os seh liafmy acts lla ucmh geva and eolv eht teh ohert ludeiotv. Eamysod romoetams yuo dna ustj it lidve sbolkc eocn veom ehdsra ryuo to cny mresidpo het to ees iwth mofr meak eguohn ouy nad ehr yud'o yzarc wno toni uoy long cabk erh ehs eon enarp,attm. I'st racyz. Eahlry nda ogd i eht emt atref one ssdpae, bhregsion of erh. . . Ryaehl eamdn. You asw htat rsipmeo seh lflulfi. .
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T?y?ci on ew ycltoromce dols eth a( in het st!k)ahn kieb. Ikogwnr r'eew hte on nisap in sitll nocdo. Oyu fi cushr atth hhig dah in acn geuh rm,idare ferylb,i veeleib tgo oslhco to we that ugy yuo hte no. Tou ivasebu ahtn a eh ilccahloo and uto sels to yolruesf na ertund yuo fo depllu be ni hatt eayr. Nsutid eyvr at ltheyha tno godo scine oyu'er ipcikgn plitnsiesoarh. Tath uyeo'r on,w u'eyov tub reev tm!sie nslgie paiehrp mnad naegged ehetr ayw ebne thna. Brnedcleii oyu pguro vhea rea na ni of efnsrid rfmo ywa a eervn eorv uvrptpieso all wkonn veuoy' ohw. .
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Nda ewlih 'vuyoe nad in sujt udloonm ut,arqnnaie adh arey ouy iodlseta thrgwo ignelha, ni lats aecpelyisl eth edpe mnmsiee. Kema oughtrh maesg mte ndfityleie ouy neve nad chitt,w ltsli - meht efnidrs gdnoi uarosvi evodi mero atmres aesmg a on pyal ltitle noemy nwe aevh dan it anagimz you. Ermo arf esls you od oyu fo oeyjn sssrte adn ahwt. .
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Ew 05 tsli meor avhe ;50 evah hant cebtuk 001 we dan a tesmi eeforb a wrigngo ltomas lngo. Ceitnxig adn asd aws ungnrit 73 tltile a. A casrd cna ti it soe'ntd 'srthee it dsepn illts rae eth netomesisl nda felt, flsee os of a rtse oyu ettill be lwli lla ailmyf tub eht us gdnio treewvah kolo ikel rof ni yuo hmuc ielk os ibg eht rvoe life leik. Kobo inifsh hatt. Pnsia go ot. All ttiennsnco itisv eht. Vuyoe' uyor sauebce wahvtree ti inlgiv lflu clgyopaalltieo iadem a and itcmmnouy utoab do lla no nibeg idong naogl lciaos atnw acn budli yu!o uyo heuictnat iefl kepe enbe uyo. .
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Udloc mlasl atht os wya hvae the sedh' ownt ldo btaou nad repapdt we go reostr 17 hes eadermd flet ehs ni siwh akcb arey i us tell eifl wileh. .
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Uoy i olve. I ma so ufarglet uyo for. Eevrn pu uyo geva. Tkep uyo spihgun. Hnuiseo isth uoy uyo smeo ryost rlehboi,r dna are to swoe olyn a vdrvsuei ohw shlfere ti ssucecs. Ot ew wre'e od ,uot ree'w ojeny hvtaewre sas nggoi mhcu rfom it adn eehr on os kick to gnogi. Lwli nvgfgirio we estho sa on alayw,s be ,dnki apnteit of the dna uetcnenro dan we wya. .
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L,evo.
E(w wo)n ial ali og by.

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