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...

Dtwena neiyhtvegr uyo oseritriip (ohhtgu ehc)andg got yuo adn !ti meso tub yuo did glg,terus. .
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Ew vlie od ni htaannamt. Heav euplco you hnwe eht aleve gohttuh ,gguosroe - oruy utdsin okebr hopse yuo bauscee irudng eamsdr lhsoco veela drga siaocpsu a a teh amrtek in nda ytci unysn kbolsc vdiel ouy hrtea and and to tametpnar eth uoy uyo rfom marpttnae tols had ot one ew ryou rscdahe adh jtus het. Uoy 'im hmi omlats ubt sltli ryrs,o hnitk eyvre ady tbaou do. Atnv'he ot aangi nopesk ltsil ihm uyo. Itwh drrmiea onw yabb e'hs a. Udwol eavh uretuf uyo kiel atth hwit ouy a ni neeb tol hwat obtua edwonr it. To pnesd revpo you ihm teh atth uyo gtinyr tasl ysaer ot htoyrw rewe 10. Eerw swlaya oyu. Dan anc lyurt nosemoe uotba uoy ee,rw on mhi tbu ouy rpoud who you be fo ghhottu gnwor that ot eyrjuon revpo baeemc elvo eh. You os ropdu be os louwd. Ear os uyo dropu. .
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Wteri a uoy olt omre. Ratetsd wiret repyot ew vhae nad yawl)?sa a krco and en'wret ouy ovlne btu epoar usa,oitim(b a. Tisll oalg ts'i btu a u,spiedbhl ety ton. But ddi wtoer rof reevn of did uyo ylltihcenc)a osdednu sa lkie a fro ucnot tierw htat 'wlel eamd a ,noec ecrera oyu hamitrnge uyo a puhblsi eyht( that numsisobis r,umolag lagm,rou os rfebi. Hatp ouy a vmsaesi a 'yueor natremkgi on hetc negiimad in for calois ymanopc meaid okgrwin nrvee xt,deies ciltonsnug ni. Oyu ti elov. And ouyr tsamr ksroorecw elncbydiri situpvorpe ear. Orfm olmnudo lpeca won by uyo of lalc csynruata ot bseauce trpanetam - get uoy sdei eth okwr uory hwti toairvfe yuro the adicm,pen - oury. .
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Aurond si odmnulo tlsli. Tshi and abte eb mesurm eh 12 caercn lliw. Ebiveel no het leppoe na cant' terste e'hs anm ldo. Orf eth a pppyu hte artpoeutni gnrhobdhioeo god binge sllti in adn paiptehs sah gerney he. Alyreh ssepad ryea ni lsta crmah. Reayd ehs hse dna swa asw 18. Much dtivuloe het scta the lla and love hse evga eothr in laifmy os. Ehgonu thwi nyc ot uyo hesadr hse reh tjus to omrf ouy uroy mevo vlide wno cneo osrdmpei cbka teh uoy it soemmatro adeoysm 'odyu aemk slkboc see logn eon rpnaetta,m nda nad yczra iont erh. Tis' rczay. Eno eapsds, i gsoihernb rhe hrlaey ogd dan hte eftar fo etm. . . Ylrhea dneam. Asw ttah mospire seh lulffil ouy. .
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Eibk (a c??yit ew no ni hte losd olocmctrye het !hstkn)a. Oodcn iltls kowrgni ewer' on teh iapsn ni. If got taht nac to we in teh dr,ieamr huge taht scoloh hcusr yuo hghi evilbee gyu yuo hda no flrieby,. A turden yuo slse ohaicocll lpulde ni na flsoyreu tuo raye nda ot bausiev be ntah out htta fo he. Eylahht dtnius since stahneolisrpi dogo yo'eru ervy at ont iipgckn. 'vuyoe htat wno, heetr mnad awy but eaiphpr s!emti veer ngegdae hnta r'oeuy nbee inelgs. Nwonk ayw fo idebnclrei haev uvtrpopsei ensdirf you ervo na owh are ouprg uvy'eo ni all a enevr rfom. .
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Eipcesylal alts ulndoom rieuaqtn,an in dan uyo dah mmsneie hte dan hliew jsut e'uovy ni toghrw yaer edpe daioslet naehgi,l. Ti gndoi ellitt smtrea no tisll tem emth adn lpay h,ttciw fnsedri smeag oyu asemg vhae a ioedv dtiefnieyl enve - vraoius aekm wne ghhtuor mero omnye zaaimng yuo nad. Raf essl ejyon of hwta ouy do mero rtsess oyu adn. .
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Evha 0;5 a ckuteb we tisem a more goln tisl thna 05 we omstla eobfre dan 010 wronggi hvae. Saw irgnutn dan dsa ttlile 37 a citxneig. Eht of raehwevt a be it edsnot' uoy uoy gib lfie aifylm lkei it dan keli lefse rae os ni ubt listl oerv can te'rhse lal ilek ucmh a ndsep fro teh so look tlteil ef,tl ti srcda us nemoetisls eht idogn lilw ters. Nsihfi kobo atht. Go ot sainp. Eth viist lla enctstnoin. Yuo ctahteuin hevtware oaalgtcloyliep daemi ebne oyu idong uryo y'ouve giivln lal awtn lluf gnloa do anc no icmumoytn sicola a bdlui kepe ebign nad bcseuea lfei it ouatb !ouy. .
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17 go acbk old whsi elft resort nad esh rdedema ehva hwlie ni i eary tepadpr ew awy the otabu nowt us ttah 'hdse ielf so sallm odclu etll esh. .
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I ouy olve. I yuo argtlfue fro am os. Up evner gvae yuo. Eptk yuo npghisu. Ceucsss lnyo hoi,lrber a hwo iueshon dna to aer esow yotsr omes hsti ouy felehsr ouy rseduivv ti. Erew' ass 'eerw rheawvet ew hcum onigg ikck to reeh od to no ti o,ut morf nda iggon ojnye os. Liwl on ,dnki fo eb and vfgiringo hsteo neaittp we dna ayw retconuen as we ay,swal het. .
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Lo,ve.
Ila we( go ail by n)ow.

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