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...

Did uyo envrhteyig hugoh(t you adtenw oyu tog dan rritipoise getug,rsl ech)adng i!t ubt oesm. .
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Evil thtaananm in we od. Hraet eaelv ahd you ettanrmpa sdarme ktrmea veldi ryuo pheos dan stndiu utghhto a eattapnmr ot hnwe posusica uyo ocepul eaelv adcsreh a - oryu dan uynsn ni ltso uoy eth teh baeesuc sbcklo ew ot ochlso uyo cyit eth het dah noe mofr nrgudi jstu ,eoursgog veah oyu rdga bekro dan. O,rrsy stlli ryeve mih mi' uyo do uoatb satmol tkhni ady btu. To him soknpe 'vteahn you isllt niaag. Htwi rriaedm aybb won a esh'. Ouy a haev twah ni ttah uolwd you euutrf wthi ouabt lto it keil owdenr eebn. Uoy ewre lats ot to him spdne tringy 10 yuo serya oevrp the tyhorw htta. Ouy waaysl were. Emecba eh adn htta elvo oyu to yuejron ruopd boaut epvro fo on er,we ylurt nca hhoutgt orngw neosome ouy who but hmi eb yuo. So lwduo durop eb os ouy. Os oprud aer yuo. .
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Weirt a orme you lto. Adn alywas)? envlo tbu eiwrt a a dan aedrtts oyu yertop tn'weer oearp rkco mbuosti,i(a ew ehva. Tub ont a llsit lgoa lishupd,be 'tis eyt. Ibsumosins onctu puisblh raoum,gl yhet( htta for so iwret berfi tub vrene of oyu orf mdea a treow taht gethminar lwl'e eilk a ererca ouy noec, udoesnd yactl)enchli mualg,or yuo a ddi ddi as. On ni oy'uer rknwoig renve a ilcosnuntg in eimssva a dmaie ahtp aonmcyp i,tsexde fro oalsci iagdnmei emnrtikga uyo cteh. Uyo it lveo. Stmar ispupeovrt dna recbindlyi era orkrweocs oruy. Romf ouy dsie clla the rveoatif get oryu eplca oryu oury - het esbceau yaunacrts - ratpentma nce,dpami onw onolumd fo to htiw ouy by wrok. .
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Nuarod is nmludoo litsl. Aecnrc tbae be dan he iths meumrs 12 lilw. An settre on nam ca'tn ebelvei h'se eelpop teh ldo. Phitpsae egbni orf egreyn ni ogd and ahs a pypup eh istll tierapnuot eth hrdeginohobo het. Crhma sedaps eayr ni lsat alyhre. Hse 18 saw aws reayd dna hse. Tsca hse todeiluv so teh vgea liafym mchu nda all rthoe ni hte elvo. Ouyr nwo oeghun uyo ouy vmeo ahdser asyemdo ycn cbak ti ese esh noti het irmpoesd oen hre ot you rmof solkcb ta,pmaetrn to msaemorto ycraz kame and vdeli econ and ujst rhe itwh ngol d'ouy. It's aczyr. Taefr dna heraly the hnrbgieso seaspd, erh god i tme of one. . . Andme layhre. Htta you rsimoep flfluil swa esh. .
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Beik a( iyc?t? the oloymecrtc het s)tka!nh no ew ni losd. We'er no pnsai in gwkonri the sltil docno. Ogt lryfei,b ihhg dah ot hatt if on ttha euhg in ivbeeel nca rcush ,mearrid ugy het lhcoos uyo you we. Na uyo that ni be otu nduret tou a leldup chollaico ot abvieus nad of ylfsouer esls he hant arye. Not o'uyre relsnapsioith ogdo neisc yerv nsuitd at gicpink ayelhth. Eprhpia dneagge !meits anth uo'eyr atth terhe ywa gesinl yev'ou tub wno, mdna been erve. In mfro are fo purog owh 'uevoy debnelicir oevr an way evha ptseouvrpi vneer sfdnrie lla onknw a oyu. .
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Nnutraeqia, in tghrwo aeyr tsju eedp odmluon eht adn eminsme yisaelpcle dha dtoaiels uvyoe' uyo dan lhewi tlsa in ane,hlgi. Emnyo hugtorh htem sgeam egmas isltl ieovd digon on tme reom - ntdiyelfei enev nwe dan it adn oisvrua ,twihtc uoy aremts veah a meak frdeins ielltt azngima yuo alpy. Adn yuo esls fo rome sserts ahtw yejno od rfa uoy. .
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Goln we a 0;5 meor ahev tsli toasml aveh 100 ew 50 esmti foereb a bkcuet inwgorg nhat adn. Dan ttliel a asw ritungn sda 37 ntegxiic. Rts'eeh iltlte it like teh dan cumh it be tl,fe os nca uoy os istll it radcs meotsilnse uoy tres epnsd iekl gnoid a efels ni fiel big kloo ikel teh llwi ervo ear of lyfmia a all tbu revehwat rfo the nt'sode us. Nsihif boko atht. Ot og naisp. Tonstiencn all het vitsi. Eeucsab cna yuro lisaoc tanw lla iiglvn neeb it dna a eretahwv aoiyglpcelaolt you ifle on epek ullf vuo'ey do amedi onidg oatbu eibng !uyo lbudi mcinouytm oyu glano ieauctnht. .
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Bouta eahv soertr ni swhi us the lod eaemddr she d'hes seh wont ttah awy og ltel we ifel and eflt i iwehl lslam os cbak cdulo raye 71 aptpred. .
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You i ovle. I gtleurfa for so ma ouy. Enerv vega you pu. Yuo etpk gishnup. Woes a who ti this cusescs oryts ylon shnuieo reselfh oesm rae oyu isvvuedr hriolber, nad uyo to. To dna tuo, chum eer'w ti do eerh neoyj evhrtewa ickk ot ass so fmor on giong erew' ew inggo. Yasl,aw urceneton kd,in as tipanet dna ywa wlil no of the be onggrivfi ew we eohst nad. .
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Olv,e.
Go lia yb (we ail n)ow.

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