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...

Tub irgenetvhy meos acdnhg)e idd gto iieoprtirs hotuhg( uoy oyu andewt nad trleugg,s oyu !it. .
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Ni do evli antnamtah we. Ematnatrp in dah lsohoc saeebcu matker and lsot hte oyu you rgad breko one rnidgu yoru tyci veael we sbkocl ot eahv ynusn the you ceulop osehp juts evela suoego,rg eth to a the aanetmprt untsdi rdesam thrae - adn you and a rfom cpisousa uyo ldvei ohuhgtt cdhaser oryu hnwe hda. Vryee mhi oatub istll im' salotm hktni rroys, ayd tbu do yuo. Noepks igana imh nh'teva ot you lslit. Mardrie 'seh won byab a ihwt. Hvae you hitw hatt ti in a wtah you donwre tobua otl etruuf bene lkei dolwu. Npsed atth orvpe 10 yuo triygn tsal hte rewe yrsae uoy ot to hmi trhoyw. Erew you alyswa. Velo wrnog he who yuo on dna mih e,rwe ytlru that jnueyor to nac porev prudo mcbeea oyu noomees guhohtt of but be baout yuo. Udlow so os be duorp uyo. Os era ouy opudr. .
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Tweir a rome uyo lot. Rkco peytro er'etnw ya)a?wls nad datrest ,tsiam(uiob tub ouy a heav ew earpo adn twrie loevn a. Oagl ety isltl ubt upshelibd, not a t'si. Ontuc mougr,al did sa revne tcaellcihyn) taht uesddon orf you htinmgera ttah l'wle rfo e,ocn a a did gou,marl a mead so uyo ipulhsb bsinmisuso tbu etiwr irbfe e(hyt of elki recare erwot uyo. Ehtc rof acolsi mcoypna rneev tnigaremk iimgdena u'yoer no idema a ouy tuginolnsc ivessam a etsedx,i ni iowknrg tpah ni. It evlo uoy. Ouyr and are rsooewkrc icbnidlery speiovprut trsam. Yuo fo won eth ouy thiw korw cpael buescae oefartiv - yruo oruy uaacytsnr eht - aecim,pdn egt prtetmana doomnlu by sied uryo ormf to clla. .
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Udnrao si mlnouod llsti. Iths lwli 21 be mremsu arecnc eh beat nad. Oelepp rseett tnca' anm on eht dol libeeve eh's na. Sah enyger rbhnhegioood god dna eth tllis he prauotietn ni seaiptph ofr puppy a teh bineg. Asedps yrhlae racmh yare aslt ni. Hse wsa hse dryea asw 18 nad. Mhuc itoelvud teroh scta lla adn eavg ni eovl the hes the so iamlyf. Ithw oyu ncy ot it eth rmoatosme and omfr ruoy spiormde keam zryac lnog amosedy ocen ese nmrett,apa utsj ivdle uyo and nwo you bcka hungoe dhsear noe lkobcs tino to ehs moev yod'u erh her. 'sti cyraz. Met the eon rfeta pseds,a i god leyahr her and gnsoibhre of. . . Lryhae nmeda. Oyu oerispm ehs was flulfil htat. .
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No oormlceytc a!nh)kts kbei het ni lsdo ew yc?it? a( teh. No gikornw eth odcno in e'rwe sltli ipans. Ot we fi ouy uoy in elbeeiv dha ghue osolhc taht ygu urchs ihhg on nca teh gto ,iamdrre ylbr,fie htat. Uyfolser aclolhcio eh in sbvuaei of an to be ssle adn ttah tou leludp anth a unertd out yuo arye. Csein ta eshnarioltpis evry lahyteh ton pingkci 'eyrou dogo sdntiu. Hrete y'rueo veer o,nw amnd e'ouvy reahipp anht si!tem iengsl eebn btu agdeegn htat ayw. Of lla an uy'voe trpepsvuoi urogp ni ofmr yuo owh senrfid lcdreiineb kwnno a reenv rea veah ovre ywa. .
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Quer,tinaan yasielelcp dah nouldmo and v'uyoe teh tsal eped ghn,laei tdalesoi yaer hwtorg in ni leihw dna mmieens ouy stuj. Titell atrsme twitc,h nvee yuo tlils a apyl oyu tem heva rhtouhg rmoe iusvaor ti meht azgmnia dna dan ewn rnidfse - emnoy gmeas ngoid no semag voeid eakm dietylfien. Nyoje fra srsest uoy hawt do of less adn eorm you. .
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Nhat adn tsil 05; we smtie 010 oeefrb oatsml hvae ckuebt a a vahe 50 nlog ionwgrg we meor. Ttllei was sad a rugnnti dan tgecixni 73. Ti rae retaehwv elki 'tdosen a oolk eht ltetli lla in os ee'htrs ielk fo orve ibg teh sltli laimfy hcum a ubt be eikl adn lefi eth ti dsnep srte you orf lseef cna idngo ti os itslseneom lliw su radcs ,ltfe yuo. Hsifni kobo ttah. To sapin go. Lla tcnsetonni tsivi het. Neeb y!ou do nca it ingdo nlviig budil and iemad laglteloocyiap oyu oalgn no eekp eesubca wtan uoy ouyr nciyotmmu oliacs ienbg ullf a lief uatbo tuecihnta e'uvoy wevhraet all. .
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Dol awy ltfe het us clduo hes we in tonw dna erya lfei so 17 rtadpep ishw hse 'sdeh i og otuab ltel dreaemd evah rstreo slmla ttha hewli cbak. .
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I ouy eolv. Eftalugr ofr so am i ouy. Neevr uyo up gave. Uoy tpke hisugpn. Hsit lyon oyu ob,rlrieh srflehe srvdveui cesuscs ti ot nda ytros hwo a mseo wose aer yuo unosihe. No dan mhuc noigg ti gigon ot reew' os ot weearvht tou, rofm ewre' we eher od yjeon ssa ikck. ,indk gnivgiofr eb lasy,aw eht of nipaett way no adn we nda sa lwil eohts we ceeotnnru. .
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,leov.
Ali yb lai og w(e )now.

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