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...

Moes tewand legturg,s ogtuh(h nca)edhg t!i did uyo gto iitreorsip you nvehyiretg adn btu you. .
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Ilve in do amathatnn we. Okebr oghthtu a in morf and a oyu olecup tmkera reasdm eth ouggsr,oe uoyr nunys drnuig untdsi eht hwne lveae ehsradc soclbk ot jtus uyo anetaptrm icty sotl - earht uaspcosi hte cebsaeu tertanmap het adn you grda vlaee yuo hda neo hlcoso ot we iedlv dah eophs eahv yoru dan you. But mhi yeerv im' yda od uyo hknit atloms llist o,yrrs oautb. Inaag uoy to n'vahet hmi tsill knosep. Diaerrm wno abyb htiw a 'hes. Uoy thaw iwth lduow heav lto fretuu uoy ti ttha neeb in oderwn butao a klei. Htta denps ovrpe eewr rythwo yuo ityrng syare atsl het mih 01 ot oyu to. Eewr uoy wysaal. Eb hgthuot yrneouj vole yuo tuaob adn w,eer rulty that how msoeoen no dopru btu eh ecabme gornw evrop uyo hmi fo oyu nca ot. Lwodu be so so uordp yuo. Os era yuo ouprd. .
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A oyu lto remo wreti. Isi,moutb(a a a we nad aehv etrpoy arpeo t'nerew ubt lvone rkoc itwer teastdr yuo wyls)a?a and. Tbu sillt bp,sheldiu ety nto loga a t'si. Et(yh sa issuosmibn efbir oterw a of ddi os oum,ralg a ddi for atth reecar never iatrhmgen rwiet uyo a uyo ttah co,ne llew' otcun lrg,muao yuo fro keli hbspiul enduods edam utb catlcnyhl)ei. Ioscla idstxee, oyu gemrtkain ofr smsveai ugnictslon a agnmeiid hcte on pamnyco iknogwr hpta ore'uy eervn in a ni imeda. Oyu ti elvo. Ovpspirute smart and oowskcrre yedibilncr uyor era. Hte thwi uyor ascuebe by ot cpale mfor erfaovti yuo ulnoodm gte maein,cdp idse clal royu het now you kwro rouy fo tunysraac - - mtaatpner. .
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Lltsi is ndoolmu nodaru. Cnacre 12 be semurm lliw sith eh dan atbe. Ielveeb peelpo dol es'h ersett the anm no 'tcan an. Rutoptiane hte ebnig hsa ni god tlisl hatpiesp rfo a he noirhhdoegob hte adn enyrge pppyu. Eary hcmar alts lheayr pdssae ni. Was she hse swa and 81 darye. In olev ohter lfiyam tsca evag hte all so dna hes teh vtluedoi chmu. Yuo ti meov dmopiesr aerdhs ouy cone 'yduo cyn teh uegnoh oen ckab onti yzcar onlg ot ommserota hse and idvle ehr sjut ouy mrof rhe won t,tnrpamae klosbc akem ees and uory to itwh dyemosa. Ist' rzyac. Bngieorhs dog yearhl hte hre eratf i noe sd,apse nad fo mte. . . Arelhy ndema. Seh iorsmep atht asw fuilllf you. .
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It?y?c hte hte ni on olds ikbe we rmcetyoloc !ash)tkn a(. Ipsna no rgowink ni hte cdnoo r'wee ltisl. Yfeirlb, ugy d,mreria taht hsrcu otg teh to gihh we hgue fi adh ahtt ouy eiebelv hlocos ni can oyu no. Sels lcoaocihl nutedr ni uyosrfle sebiavu dluepl raey be out fo ahtt uyo na ot a athn uot eh and. Uidstn otn ncikpgi iesnc revy good u'orey aythehl ehsariilponts at. E'vyou namd yro'ue reteh htat own, enbe nelgis wya tnah hpreapi adnegge vere eis!mt btu. V'ueyo ownkn you owh reenv orve vhea in uogrp a an cerbindlie of seirfnd are trvoesiupp all yaw rofm. .
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Pede dna teh niqneatau,r dteisoal dha enmeism uv'oey eayr lats seiallcype sujt in roghwt dnmoolu helwi ouy ile,nhag nad ni. Evne a on dongi eitllt eamsg dvioe them dan enw akem ti rmoe met gaamnzi gaems etdynelifi - aylp ovsuiar nad ouy yoenm aveh horhtug asermt litsl ,cthtwi esfrnid yuo. Srtses uyo moer sesl ouy hwta ojeyn of arf adn od. .
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Ew lnog atmlso oerm a thna ketucb veah meist a 05 vhae ;50 ilts oigwngr efbeor 001 nad we. Untring sda a wsa itllte xgitcien dna 73. Ef,tl lkie os stsienolme sendp htwaevre evro kloo ifmyal it big for file eikl mcuh ti the llist us se'dtno leittl nad ilwl fo oyu a ni carsd eb you het all but trse'eh inogd eth so ti aer a nac like sret leefs. Inihfs tath book. Go psani to. Sviit all itctonnsne the. Eepk eaimd ullf dogni on igben ryou it hteinactu ou'yve anc yuo od all otimumync nlgoa oyu dbuil outba oyaolalcpilget yo!u eebsauc wnat flei bnee dna saloci earvehwt a ngivli. .
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Htat 17 old wshi nad twon het lfte hse eaddmer i ew ouldc so kbca liwhe hvea ed'sh hes us atoub llte yera appetrd ywa slmal og in ilef ersrto. .
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Love i you. I rof os oyu tagfelru ma. You pu nrvee agve. Ktpe uyo shiungp. Ccssuse rae lbeorhir, osryt resduviv to ohw a eesrlhf onyl hits soem oswe sihuoen oyu yuo nad it. Nyoej w'eer to iongg nad os o,tu ikck orfm hewtvera cuhm here to do it ongig ewre' on ass we. Sohte as we iifnvrgog dki,n dan etoecnrun eipntta eb no and awy we of a,aslwy hte llwi. .
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Oe,vl.
(we lia nwo) go by ail.

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