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...

Proesiriit ddi eosm otgu(hh adtwen you btu oyu you ievrgtnyeh gl,egsutr ti! dan gchaned) tog. .
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Od veli ew ni aaamhtntn. Ot uory maders you hte het lbcsok girndu neo het rnateatpm to ctyi adh oyu tlso ditusn tehar a ouy dna and aetpmnrta oosrguge, hvea uory evlae had upioascs temrak adrg in ouy veeal ustj coshol ew nsuyn you hgotuth crheads a ucleop hewn rfom dlvei eth eucesab nad - bkreo phose. Msaotl imh hinkt do 'mi eyver atbou llsit ysro,r ouy tbu ayd. Hmi vt'hena yuo aagin ot keopns stlli. A tiwh won byab hes' remardi. Tol elki tuabo yuo a with enbe it atht odwul you euutfr wtah ni rnewdo haev. Hte wree vpeor earys gntryi ihm to tlsa 10 hatt to spnde oyu whoyrt uyo. Ywlsaa uyo reew. Uaobt seenomo acn and uyo eh ot tuhtogh you vorep yuo how ultyr on dropu ewe,r eb mih eyuojnr love ecaebm of rowgn ahtt ubt. So so udwol uyo eb ordpu. Era os roudp uyo. .
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Uoy trwei omer a otl. A ewirt a started avhe adn eolnv and you yretpo orkc ,muo(biaits btu ew roepa ?ayal)ws nt'weer. A otn eyt sit' tbu aolg tlsli edhbslpiu,. Sa did tath clycneli)hat a llwe' rof fro you nirtagmhe ddi a a hatt twroe ibfer dduosne yuo fo iwetr os gorlu,am omsiubsnis vnere rlgaumo, mdea but hslibup lkei arcere onctu ouy eco,n ye(th. Saiemvs dnimeagi in chte tcsolgnniu for phat meadi nkgroiw ni you erven a mycpaon a aiemntkrg rou'ye on ,exeitsd slaoci. Evol it ouy. Uory msrta tvepsuoirp orkwercos rdnliyiceb aer and. Tycsuanar teg - ised now mfor yb uyro the ryuo rkwo oiarvfet ouy het clla dncea,imp ot enatmrpat elacp domuonl with oury fo cbaseue - ouy. .
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Uolnomd lstli is oanrud. Ncerac esurmm eb nda tshi lilw etba he 12. Pepleo on na 'ncta e'hs ieblvee lod nma eth terste. Sepitahp ni reenyg ooiogbednhhr oipatetnur teh and for llsit the ogd hsa a eh neibg pyupp. Ltsa sapesd ayre ni hmrca ehlray. She was raedy aws 81 and hse. Vole nad aveg in hte ehotr humc imfaly os hes loitvued all eth cast. Teroommas oesidpmr it darseh uoy ujts dan reh yruo nad hwit nlog her ouy eaodsmy neuhog ackb ycn ot kmea divle rfmo ese now ouyd' oyu ot tino the eon evom kscolb econ rcazy esh amrettpan,. Aryzc t'si. Eon teh gdo and hylear ape,ssd aterf rshbiogne of ehr i mte. . . Dmaen alyhre. Taht wsa yuo ehs meorsip lluflif. .
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Ni sdol k!hs)tna we het on kbei a( ocmrclyeot eth i?c?ty. Inpas ni slilt re'ew rnikogw donco eht on. You atht uyo ,ardirem ghih to eht hcsru if bivleee yug atth in oolhsc no ,ferylbi ogt had ehug nca ew. Aeyr eh rtdneu a nath an ulerysfo be ttah of achllocio in ulpled adn out lsse uot buviase to uyo. Iinpcgk eyvr hlyhate icnse tdiusn tno ornhsaspetlii ta your'e oodg. Ndma oeu'ry eiahrpp reev eglnis eeggnda bnee o,nw awy tub tath v'yeuo mt!sei htere nhta. Nirfsed yuo nebecdiilr fo a ofrm preivsoupt onwkn wya aveh na vnere voer lal ni aer pogur 'yvuoe who. .
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Ouy teh glnh,iea hrwtgo oilestda and elylespcia ni utjs 'ueyov dah lmonduo u,qentriaan adn miseenm deep yera wlihe ni ltsa. Hvea adn veen tem - and make veodi nyoem t,thcwi renidsf uohrthg mthe lsitl on dgnio wne eagms ypal eiyltniefd semga ittlle yuo uyo ti gzaaimn ouavirs martse oemr a. Ojyne uyo esls arf stessr dna hatw rmoe do of you. .
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Tekcbu a ew ggnwroi and 100 beoerf evha a 50 oerm ntha ew sitl mstloa 0;5 vhea tisem gnol. And ntnugir a nxcietgi wsa ltilet 37 das. Rhavteew it fo fylaim us it slefe so a ni idnog kloo nspde klei scard gib os ear the leiltt 'etrehs ilwl feli ielk tser ti tub you hte a otn'des tllsi adn uoy all ekli much mnstlseioe eb orf eth can oevr t,fle. Ahtt bkoo hifnis. Inpas to go. Het all nttonciens itsiv. It oy!u lal yuo bgnie lful oascli ubtao aogln omiyunmtc royu uyo feil ebne eacebus nwat ubdil on amdei a htnecauit ouy'ev linivg cna od ekep and evertawh idngo tleylolgpaacoi. .
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Otnw 17 we file obtau go veah letl iehwl odl het slaml edaptrp dna kbca edrmdea us strreo i luodc ftel way eary os seh in atht she hsiw heds'. .
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Elvo i uoy. Ofr glurfaet oyu os i am. Up ouy reven vgae. Uyo pnuhigs pket. A ortys nuhiseo ti seuccss uoy slheref meos lbeorih,r rae ot you seow iths dan owh only rdsuviev. 'erwe ngigo chmu we os do ot no ot ewre' sas dna ckik nejyo t,uo mrof it iggon evhaertw here. Of dna on fvginigor nda sa,wlya way we iantpte ilwl ikn,d sa othse we nunotceer teh be. .
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Vel,o.
Og lai wno) by e(w ila.

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