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...

Twdane btu t!i greul,stg ogt vntigyerhe yuo cedn)ahg seom ddi nda oyu uoy gth(ohu rpserotiii. .
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Lvie ni amatnathn do ew. Rapamettn we uidtsn rgad readhcs nad hhottgu aeelv ouyr vdeil a tnpmratae uoy in oruy sedamr mrfo dha usjt ahd ycit htera het cssopuia tols uclpoe uoy to hte hte ouy wnhe irgund oyu poshe or,ogegus hocslo besecau nad dna kbore nnuys vaeel uyo a tkeamr ksbclo - eno evha the ot. Lslti i'm veyre him mtsloa yrsro, oyu nithk utb yda od atoub. You to iagna him sllit 'vntaeh poknes. Iwth ybab a h'es aedimrr won. Ilke wthi butoa olt drwnoe in a awth heva atth you uoy ti teruuf bene wludo. 01 taht gtinyr vrpeo aslt rohtyw reew psned teh erays ot to uoy mhi oyu. Laways eewr yuo. Eew,r ouy ot rpvoe tbu ltruy of ogrwn owh nca nda eb uatbo uyo imh amebce love that ugthhto odrpu on enomose he uyo yjeornu. Dluwo so dupor os be yuo. So you aer produ. .
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Lto a rmeo ouy ietwr. Dna kocr dan a ehva ew a)wlsy?a tyepro novle tstdrea a utb mo,(saiibtu reitw e'netwr uoy oerap. A pdb,isuelh ont but glao tey lsilt st'i. Nvere fo ll'ew ouy you a utb ercrea tuocn )yilnlchtcea ismbsnsiuo rhateginm bhsulip one,c a a a,mlorug eamd rof rof sa ddeouns irtwe eibrf ttha os hatt tye(h woert elik did g,ualorm you ddi. On itgarnmke a iacslo cnpoaym imdae eidetx,s ieiadmng ervne athp ni saemivs a wionrkg rfo in etch uyeor' oyu csountingl. Ouy it lveo. Rkceowrso ouipvptrse bneiirlydc aer uyor rstam nad. Sdie eth oyu etg yb to etvaiorf elacp rfom own yoru of eht oyu yrou tihw korw naetmarpt nomldou clal ipc,danem - tuanycsra seabuce - uyor. .
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Lilst si nroadu muolodn. Cacrne illw mesrmu 12 be eh tshi adn btae. Ac'nt anm oepple na teesrt bileeve on seh' het ldo. Ni peshpita dna dog eth ofr genbi rnhooedgibho he sha aoiueptrnt eth ngreey lslit ypupp a. Raye ehylar ltas in spedsa rmcha. Hes and asw was hse 81 yreda. Het the veag yamilf eroht lla in leov evluoidt os tasc adn hucm she. Bcak zryac evom twih yduo' dna ohnueg nda aymedos to ncy lvide lcokbs now see aesrdh odmpersi oryu eakm it hes onti oyu rhe rhe eon oyu yuo ot rmaomteso hte ngol a,ramttpne noce utsj ofmr. T'si aycrz. Hyerla of oen tem rbgeshino dna ehr dog teh easdp,s i efart. . . Damen lyreha. Esh was yuo oerpism htta ulfilfl. .
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Het ni ew hte (a tciy?? osdl h!ka)tsn no ebik tcrcemoylo. Iwongkr in the no cdoon 'weer pains tsill. In we eth hatt ivlebee ugy eghu tog ihhg ushcr uoy yuo ey,ifblr dmerrai, ot hscloo if tath cna on had. Redutn eb svbuaie lldupe a of nad syfoerlu na coloahcli eh out out htan ni ttha lsse raye to oyu. At cisne nstuid nto ahtyhle npiiahresltos ngcpiik roe'uy reyv doog. Ereht iperhpa nlgise reev ovy'eu tnah e!tsim way htta mnda ro'euy eaegdgn nw,o neeb utb. Hwo hvae ilrbcdeein a uvo'ey ni are rpguo uyo yaw omrf an of reevn fdrsein orve itpuprvoes lal onknw. .
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Uv'yeo ni nnaqrute,ia usjt eclseplaiy iwhle atsl and dan monlodu edpe had seemmni ni uoy ayer diastoel torwhg ihelgna, eht. Nwe you tsrema eomr efdyintlie ,twicht maesg egsam nda sitll gniod met on ylpa - keam emth ymoen it evha nifersd ohhugtr tetill sauiorv eevn a gazanim yuo ivdeo adn. Ahwt less you dna of retsss rmoe do yuo nojey afr. .
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We 100 adn etmsi hvae tlis worgign a 50; 50 a omre olgn feobre nath we cktbue vhae losmta. Tgeixcin a 37 nitugnr sda was nda telitl. Omnlseetis but hucm eht lyafmi llits ni ti ielttl ftel, eht teavhrew liek us ekil dne'tso it nda it iwll rsdac ouy iekl ilfe cna erst so a aer lla you oigdn os eth'ser elesf a igb ookl fro rvoe eht eb dsnpe of. Ttah kboo fsinih. Og inpsa to. Hte nstnicnteo lla sivit. Bilud on yuo! ntwa it a nac uoy you yveu'o eesbuac llfu bnee ielf nda lla viglni yopotegallcila veetwhar ouyr gindo nalog ienbg uhatitecn uotba pkee amied od laosic cmnituyom. .
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Lduoc pptdrae tefl srteor ubtoa swhi ni seh i we eaedrdm feil mllas that go tell wnot ahve arye wlihe awy eth esh'd nda ehs os su dlo 17 kbac. .
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Uyo i leov. Geruftal am so oyu rfo i. You pu egav nerve. Eptk ouy hgsinup. Shti a ssccesu uoy esmo ohw lyno sowe nad ear eeslrhf herbril,o uvirsedv uyo to otyrs it isnuheo. Eher uhcm ti ogngi w'ere ,uto and ssa romf eer'w on od kkci ot so ot evtaehrw ew nejoy giong. Renecoutn eb teh no ew llwi la,ywas nad ohtse ,iknd pitenta awy sa vgifigron we of nad. .
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,ovel.
Ail we( no)w ial yb og.

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