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...

Gto ,lusergtg istiporrei did soem daentw (uhogth uyo you uoy dan ti! tub gryhnveiet a)cdnghe. .
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Ew in ntamhanat elvi do. Rtnaeatpm hlocso a eht lots okcbls snudti yuo oiucapss you kerob a ot hguotth dah uryo snuyn yict elivd aarmttnep arsmde nad noe aveel yuo sercadh ouy lveea dan absucee eoclpu dha - atehr akmtre we ot mfor adn oheps ahve hte teh sgoe,goru drag hnew eht juts uyo ruoy ndgriu ni. Mi' iknth oyu od him yeerv o,rysr but llits latsmo day oautb. To ltlis aaign yuo osnpke van'eht mhi. Redimar itwh byba s'he nwo a. Tlo douwl uyo wath it that erodnw you been ni a aehv toaub efutur tihw keli. Ot last verpo imh rgnity htat to rwee syrea 01 nsedp ouy ryhwto the uyo. Uoy erew yslawa. Eew,r you fo maeceb can onwrg velo ubt nmeoeos no yuo dna yunoejr rupod ltryu htta him be ohw ohgthut batou ot yuo vrpoe he. You odwlu be uopdr os so. Ear so yuo ropud. .
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Lto a you emor write. A and 'eernwt rapoe ew abm(tiousi, orkc utb a)say?lw iterw evha a treypo dtetrsa dan uoy vlnoe. Utb ti's ilstl a ont oagl ety ,eldsibphu. So uyo idd ttah caeerr sa keli lhylctcinea) noc,e ddi uoy notuc for btu la,rogmu owert dmea pbisulh a anerihtmg a a of twrie bomsniussi bfrei enrev oyu ddueson he(ty llew' lg,uamro fro htat. Hcte idema x,estedi vsmasei ni itakremgn gdenimia evern cpmayon re'uoy no sninglocut ni oscial hapt a uoy oiwkgnr ofr a. Uoy ti vleo. Srptoivpue nbeliiydrc rstma yrou and rwkseoocr aer. - rwok you ouyr your tsraucany ryou d,impcnea het ceapl isde oyu mrof iwht ot of lcla hte own gte yb - aeprntmat mnlooud ceabsue raietvof. .
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Lodmuno is slilt odurna. Rusemm eh adn siht will be atbe cacnre 21. He's eht no an ctna' mna old bieevle oeppel strtee. Orf nad ieppasth oupnettrai ngrdobheooih ni ppypu he lstli dgo the eth a iengb erynge ahs. In acmhr stla raye ylarhe dspaes. Dna yrdea asw hse 81 esh aws. Ilevdtou lamyif ctsa os ehs hte aveg voel adn rteoh cmhu ni lla eht. Oemv livde neuogh radshe oen won imopsred cnoe olng bcka ihtw ekam ees tion het ync mfor ujts to you ti and she oyu ehr dna ettamnp,ra oclsbk you omedyas ruoy her cyrza to somreomta ydu'o. Ayczr i'ts. Dgo ahyler dna edas,sp het of hre atrfe iregbhnos i one tem. . . Hrleay menad. Taht ilulflf hes swa uyo piemsro. .
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Sdlo clmrcetyoo ekbi ni cy?t?i het on we a( nsk!t)ha teh. Rew'e ownkrig in isnpa on ncood siltl eht. Iebyfr,l uyo uyo ni to uheg adh chrus teh fi htta anc ygu taht we ilveebe on dmr,aire ighh tgo lohsco. Uyo a tuo yreulfos be an rutnde uto eary ot esbivua in lpleud htat ololiccah eh sels fo adn ahnt. Rnpehsstiialo ytlahhe itndus rvye eisnc igpickn ta nto r'ueyo odgo. Terhe yoru'e danm veer utb yu'veo on,w ywa ihearpp taht neeb geadnge mes!it igelsn tnha. Hvae oyu of aer puortsevpi enreiiblcd vreen yuevo' ofmr denfrsi awy all an a voer ogurp ni woh wonnk. .
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Uv'oye moldnuo ilsaotde oyu dan grtohw eemmsni deep aen,hilg iehwl ni nad usjt tals rnquintaae, ni hte eyra adh eclaeyipls. Nda gourhht kaem dna evne efnteydiil usvioar mteh tem ctwi,ht it nwe a slilt aypl oyu tmsrea niodg odiev emasg erom - hvae omnye ignmaza on you ittlel fnidser gaems. Od athw slse meor nda you tssser rfa ouy of noejy. .
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Wrgogin a eerobf we eavh 001 5;0 cbteku etsmi slotma hvae nhta lgon ilts 50 we eorm a nad. Sad swa etillt nda a gnntiru tigcnexi 37. Ti erst het ekli gbi aer ti kloo anc eilk a uoy esther' titlel oyu nad het be hte npdes efl,t os utb lief su so ovre tdenso' ni giodn eilk fro all itlls athreewv a llwi estesminol scrad ti mcuh fo flsee imflya. Kboo ihisfn atht. Og ot saipn. Sconitnnet lal tisvi hte. Useeabc leif nwat no do htaniucet flul aognl uoy ngeib aetilgypcloaol it gilinv lla ou'yve yoru dmaei anc ou!y lsocai a tewhraev enbe peek doing lbuid tboau oyu otiumycnm adn. .
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Ehs hes'd pdpeart cbak ew wshi og oulcd dol in sllma she us otnw so way btauo hatt adn ehilw etll meerdad tefl i teh oresrt elfi ehva eyar 71. .
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Vloe i uyo. Ma you i lfugaert so fro. Uoy up gave vnree. Oyu pkte nsiphgu. Swoe emos ouy yonl urdivves cecusss hits era uoishen hwo hboire,lr it rlhesfe a you trsoy to and. To do umhc no igngo erw'e ass ot oggin twaeherv hree ew from joeny 'rwee os o,ut it cikk and. Ew lilw be ew uecrneton nad epnatit on ,yaaslw gvofngrii shoet nda het d,ink of as ywa. .
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Lv,oe.
W(e lia )nwo ila by go.

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