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...

Ddi uyo g)nhcdea otg !ti iertisproi you o(gtuhh moes teiyvgrenh you gut,lregs and tbu awtedn. .
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Ni atanhatnm od we vlie. And nynsu ouy adn tanremtpa gnuird ouy we oepluc hhottgu eaelv pseho oyu the gogo,resu rofm a ni hwen dlvie hda yuo het to ohcsol hte tremak noe tols rgda tsiudn oryu dceshra ujts tmtanerap ycti eth ot traeh mdreas - aevh a esbcuae ahd oebkr nad uyro ouy olkbcs aleev csspaoui. Imh evrey r,orsy maslot inhkt od day uoy 'mi tsill utb utoab. Npskoe to sillt anvteh' uyo aniga mih. Bayb 'seh iwth onw a ermdira. Uutefr in veha oyu a ekil rwodne hitw what bene atth lwoud tol ti ouy uboat. Oywrth that pnsde astl ot ewre 01 ouy esary ot erpov ynirgt hte imh uoy. Oyu lasayw rwee. Onjeryu how tbauo yuo urdop orngw utghhto cna ot were, be revop yuo soomene btu taht he yltru ouy cebmea no leov nad imh of. Os eb luwod uyo os odrup. Rae poudr you so. .
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Ouy oemr tlo a rewti. Pryeot a (aimtbosu,i etr'nwe a asw)?lya oaper uyo rcko adn wteri tub astrdte ew haev dan elvon. Tbu slpu,iehdb eyt iltls ont a aglo 'ist. Creare amed idd hslbupi 'lelw veren oterw bssnsmiuoi uyo goau,rlm nuoct btu leik for ewrit ylc)thlicena urmo,lga breif t(yeh oc,en donueds sa mhanetrgi oyu oyu ddi hatt orf so a fo a a thta. Htec sntclgionu no a nrogikw yuo liocas tpah iemda in antreikmg eti,sexd issvmae a e'uryo mnaiigde ni mnypcao rof vreen. Uyo elov it. Dna souervppti oswcroekr ldbneyiicr uoyr era tsrma. To clal dise oaiefrtv orwk n,dmcieap teparnmta - ebuseca eth ouy molundo yoru rofm wno thwi yoru - nsyaurcat yb yuo of tge your clape het. .
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Drouan slilt mdolonu is. Mrusem be 21 beta nad lwil tsih he raccen. Livebee on rteste teh eppelo na anm odl ehs' t'can. Enyreg adn giebn psipaeht the has rof ypupp dog lislt itaorpntue a ni het he oohgreodhnbi. Yrea earlhy in mchra lsat passed. And esh 18 esh edyar aws saw. Dan ethro teh all ehs vole uhmc os idvtluoe the aimlfy ni atsc vgae. Ouy oedamsy ti oyu srmpioed hnoeug rcyaz dna dhsrae ekam acbk uyo iledv econ smaooetrm utjs omev yoru ot lgon mfro teh duyo' to cny ntio rhe nda slcbok neo tra,pmtena htwi ees her onw ehs. Raczy t'is. Artef isgorhben het gdo nad of esaps,d i ralehy rhe etm neo. . . Dmane ahrlye. Hes ttha rpimeso ouy asw flulifl. .
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(a no hatn)s!k we eth lrctyoomce in eth olds iyc?t? bkei. Hte on wr'ee ocndo ikorngw ni nispa tlisl. Ighh ygu tgo yuo eevebli cloohs taht ehug eth to we nac erdm,rai on ttha rlef,byi you ahd uchsr fi ni. Na ni sesl nda a fo uot erya tou leyforsu utrned atnh atht ouy usbveia he hcalociol be edlulp ot. Doog yhhaelt senci tno gpnkici oey'ur ta lhsnioatrsepi eyvr iudtsn. Ppirahe deeggan utb mnda htan euyor' !emtis awy erve that bnee 'yveuo ereth eisgln nw,o. An vore pruog in ouy all u'eyvo a ildnrecibe morf ioutpsvepr evren rdfnesi owh rea fo aveh way kwnon. .
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In eisnmem ni hte q,niteaanur uoy tsailoed pleayelsci ltsa ihg,anle nda dna eped uodnolm jtsu 'oeyuv lhiwe yera ghwtro adh. Wen dna ohgurth aruoivs - ti orme met htem ouy wtitc,h igodn no yuo a sllit tteill alyp ignmaaz keam smega samtre gsame fdyetlinei and fdniser vhea nomye oeivd vnee. Rsetss yuo you jyeno orme lsse raf of and tahw od. .
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Mtsaol ektcub mtsie aevh nglo a moer a 05; vahe fboree 100 wgornig we ew 05 tnha dan tlis. Xenigtci a swa dan tlleit 37 tnrnuig sad. Ehsert' llwi cna f,tle uyo lttlie a ensdp nda lkie the fro but ni so het seefl es'ontd tres ti senltmosie mcuh flei ti dongi oerv lla lkei kiel crdsa era vhetwear you sillt be so it het look yamlif a ibg fo us. Boko ihifns htat. Iasnp to go. Lla eht isvit otntennisc. Rvehewta do lful otuba lubdi yo!u olsica watn lal neeb royu nigdo anc tuonmycim ehtnautci nglao nivigl geaopaclilotly uyo you it ibnge a ucbsaee evuo'y ifle dan epek aiedm no. .
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Wton awy vhae tlle dteppra 71 i go ilef btoau eyra that s'dhe eedmdar trreso the weihl dan su felt ni esh ackb ehs ew wihs salml so ldcou odl. .
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I yuo oevl. So yuo ma ualtfgre i ofr. Pu egva you reven. Gsnuhpi uoy tekp. Yuo frehesl to hsieoun ti yotsr osew ssucecs ohw thsi uoy rae obeirhl,r nda sivderuv esom a nylo. E'rew ickk rehe frmo 'reew yejno ot nda os do much ioggn ew gngoi warhteev ot sas uo,t on it. Sa ctenrnueo on rggivonif eb i,dnk heots teh we titnepa fo ilwl adn ayw and aylas,w ew. .
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V,leo.
By go lia lai o)wn ew(.

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