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...

Msoe uyo tog sopriiiret aedwnt nda hu(tgoh engithyrve ti! uoy tbu did ,ugtglser gchne)ad you. .
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Ievl do ew haatmnatn ni. Atrnaepmt adn the a oslt to tuthogh adrg rateh ardsme ahd just oen dcrseah uyo dilev oyu - bokslc het aveel hspeo cassioup aevel rngidu nitusd adn teh and oyru ysnnu lhscoo nhew ouy ew oury groguos,e anpremtta uoclpe borek ametkr to iytc yuo a mofr uoy teh had ueacbse ahve ni. Yuo mi' do dya ihknt mih tlsil saomlt buoat utb reeyv soy,rr. Ouy ot sepkon 'vnhtae ihm ianag tilsl. She' now itwh rdaierm abyb a. You otl ithw athw nbee a htat ti uolwd roewdn oyu kile ni ahve tobau reuftu. Ttah to 01 hmi atsl sepdn you hte ot yngrti overp erwe oyu resay otrhwy. Ylwasa uoy erew. Ngrwo embeac him you vloe dan rtuyl rejuyon that ouy hhttuog oyu cna on evopr but ewer, who be dporu tuoab he to fo soeeonm. Eb ludow oyu opudr so so. Os ouy udpro rea. .
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More tlo wriet uoy a. Oa(muts,ibi rentw'e ehav vnelo ubt ew aasy)wl? oyu a wriet okcr dan apoer a detastr potery and. Tub agol ltlsi lipdbshue, yet 'tsi nto a. Renev rfo so oce,n 'wlel that a ddi uyo a rtiew you lcnae)ilytch omualrg, htye( islhpbu tbu rgaom,lu daem suissmbnoi rfo eilk a idd ountc iatnehrmg ouy rifbe fo rtewo ttah ndusdeo ceearr as. No rkanegimt msvaise coisal pnmycao t,eiexsd kngwori iaemd in iimendag in ultogiscnn o'euyr a atph you etch rfo a nevre. Ti lvoe yuo. Rsamt aer eorkwocsr nad rouy urovtpsepi ibeydlicrn. Het the - yuor ouyr pleac - mfro panetmtar ot ebesuac irtfvaeo oyu whit ieds lcla yb nsutayrac yuo get mdlnuoo cde,mniap rkwo of own uyro. .
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Lodmnuo is sltli aruodn. Arcnec mumesr be lilw 21 thsi eh and ateb. Teh s'eh ldo eesttr na tc'na epoepl on amn ibeevle. Sha rof lsitl ni pppuy a eh aiutrpotne yrgene nigbe hte ogd igbhroenodho iaphstpe dna eht. Ni raey yerlha carmh tlas aedssp. Aws esh 81 rydae esh asw dan. Orteh iedlvotu het so mayifl the csat lla and hmcu eavg lvoe hes ni. Ouy aemk mvoe inot ti oyud' apra,emntt seh ugoenh you htwi nyc omfr modisrep yazcr bkac ot ese nlgo devli nda sarmometo to sedamoy oury own uyo hre jtsu dan once the sadher eon erh klbsco. Acyzr 'its. Iesbnhgor oen rtefa ogd de,spsa reh dna mte ayhler eth i fo. . . Daemn yelhra. Priesmo was ulfllfi taht hes yuo. .
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A( ibek on we h)t!nask eth molyrcetco iy?tc? in dlso eth. Het lltsi in no inasp nkiogwr odonc ere'w. You no fi surch ot amderir, got atth ibeevel the uyo atht gueh ew bif,ryel oshlco can gyu ni ahd high. An to a elss rduent lluepd hiocloacl eb eh ntha in bsvuiea of urloyesf and uot uoy raey otu tath. Tno nsitdu atehyhl sienc uor'ey oogd eyrv pgkinic at aiephirsltnso. Eaegdgn mdan hrete tath oe'yru glnsei rpihepa nw,o btu been ayw eerv 'ouvey ahnt i!tsme. Ayw a of srifdne itsepuopvr na in vero vaeh lla ueoyv' licebrdine wkonn yuo nevre who rae grpou mfro. .
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Mmiesne ni,aquatenr aery tsal and and legh,nai in alcselyepi iwleh yuo jtsu in teh teilsoad oyeuv' whrtgo adh epde onlomud. Ltlite msaeg sgeam ti on enw diogn enymo eamk dnesrfi yapl more mainzga mte dan itsll a vnee fidelnytie dveoi oyu ametrs ,titcwh uyo thme eahv - adn uhrtgoh arusivo. Yuo rmoe ssle fo sretss fra jonye ahwt dna do uoy. .
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We salotm iggnwro ilst 05 ;50 veha roem ereofb a a than 001 long etukbc nad hvae we mseti. Sad 73 a niuntgr nad egxicitn was teiltl. Yuo ni ibg fmlayi lilw a eht like esfle hvetware ti nsdep ltlsi olsenetism casrd you ilke it uhmc the nca ti ubt elft, elki su dna be efil eovr all eitllt orf de'sont rtes of so os rae teh olok a iongd eh'sert. Kobo fnishi thta. Inaps ot go. Istvi het nonsnectti lal. V'uoey ymutoimcn !ouy keep lal aerhwtve no you utacetnhi eimda a bnee nda saoicl dogin wnta ingeb it od lango ingivl ryou feil loolgtecalipya lufl ucaeesb lbuid you acn btaou. .
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S'dhe eth elwih us amsll in otuba 71 avhe odl eltl esh bkac flie ltfe hes nda we ldcuo eayr so htta i og rdpeatp redadme tonw siwh wya reostr. .
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Vole you i. Ma uoy i os ofr eugflrat. Gave uoy eevrn up. Gipuhsn pket oyu. Osem it ,iehbolrr yuo ot seuohni herlsef tsryo yonl adn aer itsh a owh ouy sewo rdveusvi esuscsc. E'rew ti noigg rw'ee rmfo ssa hcmu ggoin nda eerahvtw we tou, jonye so ckik do on ot to reeh. Ew fo dan no we ,yaslwa iwll teatnip eth setho be dan nd,ki sa way orueectnn rgnigivof. .
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Lvoe,.
Lai ew( go w)no ali yb.

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