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...

Uoy meso rroitsepii )dancheg oyu tgo t!i yuo hhtugo( and hvyinteerg idd atednw stg,elgru but. .
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Ew veli od ttmnnaaha in. Uyo ocplue we the ni and ehosp asmerd city dgniru gtuthho whne dgra adecshr oyu ustj oury ekorb ehva snyun ofrm to spsuocai the iutdns to hsoloc oslt uoy dha uacbese nad amprtneat seruoo,gg a - uyo adh eth and a lobcsk uyo apaerntmt hater ouyr teh merkta iedvl elvae eavle noe. Yda m'i syror, tbuao thnki ryeve hmi yuo sllit tbu od loastm. Itlls ihm ehnta'v ot oyu knopse aiagn. Byba nwo hse' twhi riaderm a. Like yuo tlo tath a athw ni derown wthi udwlo it rtefuu eenb aveh atbou oyu. Yaser ihm astl ywohtr yuo dpnse eerw 01 eth yuo to atth vopre tynrgi ot. Rwee ouy sawlay. Oevl ahtt ihm he be uyo dna acn to hwo mseneoo on fo ebeacm ouy ohtguht worng voerp but odrup ureoynj rtlyu eew,r oabut oyu. Wuodl be os opdru so yuo. Os oyu dpuro rea. .
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Omer you a otl iertw. Ehva ertiw leonv 'reenwt adn typroe cork ,ao(sumtiib a oeapr nad ubt )?wasyal a ew ratesdt oyu. Tye tis' tlisl otn a loga du,spieblh btu. Yhte( utb a aerecr a for 'llwe iplusbh evren idd rewto os cotun uoy renthaimg dduseno ,ncoe irtew of ouy taht uoy ibssmsinuo ifebr htta as liek did o,rmlaug rof nicltlaye)ch a amourl,g dmea. A lasioc gtirkeamn cnotnlgius uor'ye ni ni giowrkn omapync smaevsi evenr xd,tsiee chte for niaidgme ptah uyo no aiedm a. You veol ti. Are dan uoyr tarms osroeckrw rceiyndbil ropustpeiv. Hte mi,pendac yuo oyru saebeuc - nwo teg tcnsayuar uyro with ot yuo rouy mduonlo of rttemapna lalc by romf pealc etrafvoi desi wkor - hte. .
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Nraduo litsl si dmoluon. Iwll eh eb mmeusr ebta 12 crnaec htis adn. Eth an dol hs'e mna oeppel ncat' no erstet blieeve. Nryege he eht ni ash dan god illst ibegn upypp ofr enooorhhgbid eispahtp hte a tnuarpoeit. Ni ayer tasl ayhrel crhma esapsd. Seh eyard ehs was nda 81 asw. Aveg tohre cast in vole all hcum loitedvu ylmafi dna so hes eht eht. Juts nda unegoh kame caryz nyc aooremtsm blocsk maoesdy mvoe idvle idsopemr nwo and yduo' ot ees ouy drseha rofm to it cnoe ehr ryou hre one nito twhi she oyu ,ratmtepan oyu teh nlog kbca. Tsi' yrazc. I ryelha afetr boihgnser fo ,dsespa nda god etm eth hre noe. . . Andem ehraly. Emrsipo seh wsa ffilllu uoy atht. .
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Osdl eht on elotycormc knhas!)t we a( eht in ibke yt?c?i. Gowrnki teh ew'er sitll in no sinap dcono. Hueg ogt htat dah hte olocsh ileeebv atth ugy riyblf,e rramei,d we to on hihg nca yuo ni rcuhs oyu if. That in ruendt fo iusebav he lses pdelul to tou be and ahtn eary oyu na out uryleosf a olcloahci. Uo'rey niigcpk dtisnu prhlioinetssa at vyre iecsn hehatyl dogo tno. E'ryou eerth htta madn won, pearihp ywa reev eneb gadeegn athn igenls ties!m ubt veyu'o. Never of lal pgoru a aer hvea you ayw srvoueitpp who noknw yv'ueo ni vroe na rfnsdie rmof lnribcdeie. .
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In lsat hda het eyar ,iuanrneatq dleitoas emesnmi dnmolou i,nehlag in stuj uv'oey yuo rtowgh adn nda eapsleliyc iwleh eped. Eevn meak emsga oemr enw uyo aesgm - nad lstil uhgthro illtet eivod mraste vruisao nirsfed tehm nmyoe tem pyal uyo dongi it nad zmangia on a ,ithctw elitednfyi veah. Yuo tahw dan remo raf sesl do you ressts yeojn of. .
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Nlgo ltsmao ew a 001 roem breofe ubtkce 05 evha a we adn miest tanh nigwgro haev tils ;05. Sad 73 itgunrn itgxecni aws lliett and a. Ouy btu nad 'eersht ni stlil lesef ielttl all ftl,e rsadc kile a cna su het mcuh epdsn rehteawv klei nomtslseei the so ouy het trse igb a iekl ti ear dt'enso ilfe for over eb llwi ti fiylam fo olko niogd it so. Ttah shifni obok. Og ipasn to. All tsvii ocntetsinn the. Ciloas all giben eneb rethewva ucbease yuo !oyu ryou oyu tnimomycu medai uibld elif can tobua od loyapatiloelgc onigd ufll tnaw ti kpee nvliig hcaiutetn evoyu' a dan on lgoan. .
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Tlel deemrad bkac su 17 ontw ptdeapr etosrr eht go esh eahv outab in swih dol mslla hes telf 'dehs iehlw yaw nda cdolu os htat i we ifle arye. .
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Oyu olve i. Ma ofr so gfeultra ouy i. You vneer agev pu. Unghsip pekt uoy. Sthi some it ytrso oienhus eslhefr are scscuse eows ,rhrleoib olny ot idesuvvr who oyu a uyo nda. Adn rwe'e ognig ass twrevahe fmro it ojyen oingg to ckki uo,t 'eewr chmu on ew ereh ot so od. Be illw ew hoste fo ronntceeu ggoirvnfi sa on wya id,kn dna we swy,aal het dna tpetani. .
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Vloe,.
Ew( yb n)wo og ial lai.

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