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...

Ag)dhecn otg ouy i!t idd adn btu toiieirsrp mose uyo turglges, ghhut(o trgnvehyei naedtw ouy. .
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Amtahnnta in od ilev we. Ot uyo bklsoc hda aevle teh anaettprm diunrg yuo yuor spsiouac ltos haev - eardms yrou peosh eth oghuhtt eupolc oscohl armtek rmof u,oeggosr one hda a uoy vleid ytci acbusee adn bkroe in ehart agrd jtsu the ew ehadrsc hte nsitdu uoy levea a nad oyu dna ynnsu ot tteaprnam ehnw. Oyu rsyro, eeyrv tamslo do knhit buaot day ilslt utb i'm him. Ponske gnaai litls to oyu va'ehtn hmi. Won s'he ybba derarim a twih. Rufetu ouy tiwh lwdou twah a lot it in uyo ttha onwrde tbauo nbee elki hvae. Imh the nedsp ot seray yuo intrgy uoy ewre tsal 01 roevp otywrh tath ot. Slaawy you ewre. Eropv he oatbu hmi gtouthh on how oprud ynejuro evlo that of nca nsoeeom yrutl reew, you ubt ouy be ouy ceaebm ot ogwnr nad. Duopr eb so oludw os uyo. So opdru aer uyo. .
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A lto rmoe riwte uoy. Uyo rwten'e heva ew kocr nad a)swly?a onvel rpeao adtsetr utb a dna wtrei a mii,tabu(so reotpy. Ton goal hpbulde,is tye lslit tbu a 'sti. A,lmrugo nbsiiussmo clytileanch) uyo rfo arcere oneddus idd a enrve a rteiw ouy ec,no ctuno a ddi eth(y atht oyu ofr os fo islbhup as wreto oraumgl, btu ibefr htta klei eadm ghearmitn l'lwe. A aindmegi wongkir apth tceh no a in eervn xstiede, reo'uy amedi agrmkietn ofr yonapcm smseavi yuo oltcsungin in clioas. You lvoe it. Tvopeispur tarms ruoy woecskrro rea nda cydinrblie. Twih call side rokw oirfevta - antrtampe lepac oldumno eeucasb uryo uoyr gte onw ot het ouy yb fmro ouy - uroy npmdcai,e hte cartnyaus of. .
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Llsti is raudno onolmdu. Lwil eb adn taeb hist he remmus rcaecn 21. Olepep es'h ncta' ldo ettrse hte on beivele nma na. Illts trioetpnau the ngibe sah eh dgo rohobnhioged ryneeg eht yuppp orf in and eptahisp a. Macrh elhrya eyar stla in ssdape. She 18 esh adn saw asw yerad. Chum avge adn iafylm eth othre uiodlvet hes all ni astc os olev teh. Iton goln dna ti to ouy sadher rhe you yuor temoraoms mofr lskcbo crazy dna kbac juts ud'oy hre evlid you ipdrsome ot hgeuon e,trpnatam hte omev wno noe hes econ emak cyn esdamoy wthi see. 'tis arzyc. Oen her dan tme relhya dessa,p god of eht bhinsreog erfta i. . . Herayl adnme. Htta liuflfl yuo ropmesi hes aws. .
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On kibe lods (a ?cit?y in ymlccotreo ahks)n!t eth the we. No odnoc pinsa ewre' hte sllit ni nwkrgio. Oyu guy got to oyu e,drmair in on fi eht huge oochsl shcur cna ttha ew belevie ahd gihh lrfeb,iy atth. Lses otu lpulde taht rluyfose be tnrude ni ohlacolic uoy fo otu eyar he dna a to suabvie htan na. Ta not yvre gdoo gkcpini uisdnt ure'yo ayethlh nrieiahtolssp icens. Mand awy nleisg emtis! voy'eu erthe hatn rppeaih eagdnge ,own ryuo'e tub htta eben rvee. All an uv'oye of fomr ervo hwo enerv way gorup vaeh nlicibrdee kwonn ni a snifder you ptrveuposi ear. .
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Teh vo'yeu eyar ni dan meismne in yeslaclepi edpe stdoeila geni,lha leihw monoudl dan adh tujs you n,atunreqai ltas orwght. Teiiyldnfe uoy tillet - new no mkae veah redinsf a met urvasio aesmg dan eomr and ruothgh dgnoi you even ti nmyoe eagms odeiv itt,whc aizgman illst tmresa alyp hemt. Oynje of you afr do slse rome and oyu ssster wath. .
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Ermo we omsalt 010 frbeeo a tnah 50 a ew logn rwgoign evha ceubtk heva list dna stime 5;0. Sda dan wsa ngiuntr eltitl 73 a xgeicitn. Chum be ti hte cna in a evor eifl sdtn'oe rea dan oyu of oyu keli el,ft ikel ti liettl ndeps illst s'eterh ti gdnio adscr so us elki eth fro igb liosestmen but etsr liwl so mfyali teh olok efsel all vweetrah a. Hsfini ookb ttah. To napis go. Lla sivit icnsotetnn eth. Uvy'eo neibg been yuo peek on ullf a dna meaid !oyu do ti auobt uebsaec cna iasloc aeevwhtr nalog oindg twan all otuimyncm lbiud oatgipceyllalo hetuitnac gniilv yrou ouy ielf. .
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Esh odl 17 wya kabc tell sd'eh swhi nad allms su esh otsrre eflt so i ew htta erya eihlw ni touba og het have apdertp fiel cloud edramed ntow. .
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You i veol. Gelfrtau orf so am i you. Gvae yuo pu rnvee. Etkp ouy npusihg. Hfseelr lnoy uyo esom rirhlobe, scsusce rsyot it swoe adn iurdsevv enoushi ouy rae owh a ot this. Kkci humc erew' ot ew os do tou, ot ssa ti oigng here rmfo ew'er on werahtev nad yonje ignog. Fvinoiggr on tshoe awy adn ,swyaal tteiapn the fo sa orneeucnt we nidk, eb nad will ew. .
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,evol.
W(e by ail go no)w ial.

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