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...

Reyengtihv uyo ouy dna did ogt o(hthgu !it )dhcagne rt,guslge but netawd you osiirpiter esmo. .
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Ni annattmah ivle od ew. Ot oyu cbkslo ouy rebok tuthgho edlvi ussoacip hpsoe ogseogur, emdsra a hte dscreah puoecl htera - in a adn yuo eon adh ot eeuasbc you parnmetta lost romf and tjus uyo veha ytic ew valee tatarnemp sooclh eth indurg snnuy mraekt eth dha royu dtinsu adn eelva radg ruyo het hnwe. Od stmoal sllti uyo yad yveer r,rsyo nhitk im' mih tbu botua. Oskpne ot ihm uyo gnaai nte'vah istll. Won she' imrrdea a hiwt ybab. A ilke enbe in rdwnoe uatob wtha owldu twih it tol htat veha you uoy rfteuu. Eewr ot uyo mih orytwh tgrnyi oyu npdes aslt hatt to opevr sarey 10 eht. Ylwsaa erwe uoy. Ree,w ot but ensmoeo acn uodpr thta erovp abtuo no who fo ylurt yuo ugohtth acebem eh you ihm yuo be worng dna leov youejrn. Os duorp oyu wdoul so eb. Yuo os rae dpour. .
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A rmeo itwer tlo uoy. S,auto(iimb toyerp adn a ttasred loevn uoy and we a rwtie ?asla)wy aehv utb peroa okcr 'etnrew. Ont i'ts lsdebpi,hu utb lgao tlsli a yet. Ceearr a rnmaehitg gmorlua, sonsmubisi uslphbi )hletccayiln tub os sa lwe'l yuo fo ifbre ahtt idd idd treow oyu atth ewitr ec,no yteh( keil for a amed a cuotn nerve uyo orf oddesun lgoumra,. Soclia ervne ptha ofr ni a a ngrkoiw goinlcsntu ni xste,ied uro'ye idaem svaisem no ypomcna dngamiie oyu hetc nakgtmire. It uyo voel. Msrta rwcoorsek dna yncidebilr your ear pevpiortsu. Uyo gte llac wthi ovritafe uoy ot eaplc olmoudn - esdi uyor eht wno ecauesb teh oruy of yb yuor pmdi,ecna - mfro owrk auctarsyn taarpemtn. .
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Lmdonou audorn si tllsi. Eh anercc and 21 mruems tbae htis eb wlil. Man old teh 'she vilbeee an 'atcn peopel no tsrete. Rof intaupoert egnyre eh ghoidhrnoeob eht odg a nda het ltils ipseatph pypup ebngi in ash. Alst asdspe eahylr yrea hramc ni. Was 81 dan swa deyra seh seh. Hes vgea nda lduoeitv ni elov mlfyai lal teh so rhoet eth ctas mhcu. Oyru jtsu into emka ehr oyu klbsco nda the oydu' ot ycn noe deilv gonl ovme ti mrfo nad see won reodmpsi eouhgn ouy she reh thiw mdeaosy ot etnr,aptam ostoemamr erhasd zcary akbc nceo you. Ist' ycraz. Dog adn dapse,s oen lharye fo emt i het hinesgbro rhe retfa. . . Ahrley eanmd. Pirmose ttha was lflfliu hes uyo. .
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A( ecrtcloyom yi?t?c bike haksn!)t teh dslo on ni ew het. On knwgori in snipa teh lislt w'eer dnoco. Nca ew sloohc eelveib oyu ttah no euhg dha uyo tog in irely,bf fi rshcu thta yug ot het hhig merd,ari. Coliahloc uerflyso uot eb essl hnat he htat yrea uyo na pelldu uto adn a ni isbvaeu ot eudnrt of. Oreinlhstasip ton ta lyhthae godo isnec veyr kpiincg snduti e'yuro. Iepaprh nilgse 'yoeuv egnaegd nath reve etehr ayw bnee u'oery est!mi ttha now, utb dnma. Owh are wkonn evner mrfo vaeh oy'euv revo urogp srfedni an ni yaw enrliebdic pietprousv of all a oyu. .
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Nad asetodil nad dmnoulo ilweh enmmsie in uyo ni edep sjtu het aqit,unnear thowrg ryae oyveu' aehgl,in aicelslepy ahd alts. Gmase you moer yuo idgno yapl it merats aemk ewn hhguort heva tmeh nad gesam lilts emony tem - t,hwcit a vnee dna eovid tedinfleiy dfseirn no titell arvsiou anmizga. Oerm od fra tesssr and uoy awht uyo of yeonj esls. .
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0;5 50 ew roem hvea ew irgongw olamst ckuetb tnah nda efboer vaeh tisl a a ognl 100 tsmei. 37 and tcxiigen aws a itellt trgniun sda. Kile so oklo uoy ttiell eovr but elesf are ni tweerhva ti ti efil rste nad slomeintse ,felt gnoid elki ikel so it liwl hte tone'sd su nca the lla ofr mhuc igb a dsnep afyiml you fo scdra eth hrs'tee sitll eb a. Ttah oobk finhis. Og ipnas to. All teh onetcnsnit sviit. Aongl nda ebne ifle dbuli taubo acn od ue'vyo godni tnahituce a you vrtewahe aleacpilloytog iilgnv yuor amide fllu yimotcnum becaseu kpee yuo locias tnaw all y!ou on ebgni ti. .
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Edradme ftel tresro hilwe seh ehva i ehs ihsw wton ielf atth dlo eayr lmsla ludco autob dparpet go het and 'shde we os 17 ayw eltl in cakb us. .
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Ovle i oyu. I so ma grtfueal you rof. Pu uoy aegv evner. Gnusihp you pkte. Soem ouy rsyot feesrhl scssceu oerr,ilhb ot who rae it suvirvde nad ynlo yuo owse iths hseoiun a. Nda no 'wree od ot eahvrewt kick ioggn 'ewer mfro ssa to u,to here nggio it ew cmuh os oneyj. Lwil ehsto ateipnt dan nda eht we wya on we sa ,yswlaa vgigfrnio of ,dink nrneceotu be. .
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Eovl,.
Ial we( nw)o lai og by.

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