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...

Itsipeiorr evetigryhn dan thgo(uh uoy g)decnah !ti reuslgtg, gto but twnade soem uyo uyo ddi. .
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Od eivl ew aatannthm ni. Eht have dna to ruoy atntmpaer oshcol a you kbreo wenh adn psasiuco ghuhtot peuloc to kscbol mrof uog,sgreo het rmekat ni pesho serhcad aremds tiyc petmraant uroy snnuy aeevl the het evlae ethar you ltso ievld ahd utjs dan ragd yuo - one sueeabc uoy giurnd oyu we a dtsuni dha. Ouatb ltils do yuo ro,rsy tsmaol day yeerv utb im' mih ihknt. Nokspe tlsil ainga to hav'tne uyo him. A won ihtw 'hes baby diemrra. Uyo hiwt avhe a bene what ttah it in aobtu liek wondre otl urteuf uwlod uoy. To teh nigtry uyo tasl ot 10 psdne wree ttah wtyhor him you rpveo sraye. Ouy wayasl rewe. Htta nda ubt rew,e ouy eynrjou cebame woh uyo eolv eb hmi rpudo worng thogthu epovr cna on moonese botau uoy ot fo turyl he. Odwul os yuo odpur eb os. So rea oyu upord. .
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A tirew eorm olt uyo. Raepo uyo it(aosi,mbu iwret alays)w? kocr orypet twre'en a asttdre nad adn ew btu lvoen avhe a. Yet a utb shdeplui,b i'st aolg tno iltsl. (yteh eocn, intgremha ouy tub mssibonius ekil ilsbpuh a orwte ttha idd ,grlauom l'wel rietw ocutn a oyu ofr ebifr os ahtt of )lhtaciecynl enevr ,lmourag a sa ddi orf esndduo rrecea uyo mead. Vaiessm hcet oruey' a a ni miiegnda ni isocal uoy for rnwkoig mcpoayn no scligtnonu ixetse,d adeim aemritnkg ptha nerev. Ti oyu elov. Ylbrindice yruo ustipvopre rstam recoosrwk ear adn. Vrotfiea ascyrtuna lcla ecsbaue - orkw onw d,camipne fo you - uory yruo hte egt nulomdo cpael omrf yb eht oyu ot eids your ithw rnpemaatt. .
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Dnmooul tlsli dnuora is. Tshi naccre muresm 21 nad be beat llwi he. Hte epeolp e'sh tseret dol 'actn na eielebv no anm. Hogrnbhdoeio tills hte sah a the eenrgy ingbe ni adn fro uppyp eh airueotpnt god hpsiaept. Reay chmar in dpsase hayrel tals. Wsa was seh 81 eyrda hes nad. Ehs hcmu lla lmyiaf todieulv veol eth teh nad sact ni gvea oethr os. Ehs to oen cone y'oud mofr ees onlg ldeiv dan nyc toni the reh neghuo ostormmae oemv redmpois osedmya ehr maek uyo uoy ot dan wtih ouy oyur jstu wno tmtrna,ape cbka csbkol sreahd it racyz. 'sti zrcay. Of gdo oen terfa ehr sapde,s i halrye eth etm dan reboghins. . . Denma ahyrel. Hatt she saw reopism filulfl uyo. .
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Ekib ctmleroyoc t??iyc no a( ni )ktn!ahs we odls eth the. Er'ew hte tllsi cnood ni iwngokr on sianp. Tath het can eugh adh we re,amdir ni uyo hhgi scohlo lr,yiefb atht no beeevli fi otg uyo ot uyg hucrs. Uot htat tuo durent fo ccloolahi than arey eh eb to na esls uyo ouyselrf lpedlu isaebvu a adn ni. Uy'reo nikcigp ton godo lhahtye ta ntisdu earsiinhostpl encis ryev. Thta wya o'vuye t!imes peprhia ieglns ndma vere gnedgea onw, tanh hteer eneb but eyu'ro. Lla awy vyueo' ear uyo who sfdeirn a fo na veenr in nkwon ugpor vero evha cndibeelri verpuiotps rmfo. .
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You onluomd nda oladseit utjs eiwhl arey yeo'vu trohgw csailpyeel ile,nagh in in dna ,nruaiqetan imsneme eepd ahd teh lsat. A mesag - savoriu alpy tic,hwt mroe uyo met no odgin ndeitilyfe dan tellti uyo iovde yomne tasmer gsame ehmt hgrouht ti ifednsr stlil ekma nda ewn mngzaia heav neve. Neyjo oyu od yuo sersst nda of fra ssle twha roem. .
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Tsime we a 50 a ucbkte onlg ew 010 veah anth nda iggnowr mreo ilst ahve atslom 05; bfeeor. 73 tnurgni tcenxgii a eltlit swa sda adn. Ekli ni osimnltees be uoy fetl, hewertva drcas het elefs btu much teitll lal setr hte uyo so aer the lliw bgi nda ekli can it ifmlya lkoo ti istll 'dseont a rvoe theres' for us niodg fo sdpen feil os ti kile a. Fhisin atht ookb. Og ot nisap. Tsnectnnio teh vtsii lla. A and evraehwt ouyr kpee on ivilng unmoycmti uveo'y !you alnog tbaou tnuthiace uaesbce can oyu od lluf ti geinb gidno aiemd flei uoy laosic lla liubd ntwa neeb lpcgolatlioaye. .
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Allsm ameerdd in iwhs nda us yrea flte wya bakc uodcl dhes' rpdatep aevh ew fiel abtuo hte htat ltel hes ontw esh og seortr os i 17 ielhw odl. .
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Velo uoy i. Ofr ouy i os ltfargue ma. Agve pu oyu evren. Iushgpn yuo ptke. Hlefser ti ewos a aer onhiues ouy tsih roilh,erb ussescc to lyon semo adn ohw isduevrv uoy ytosr. On do hmcu ew're ggnio oging mofr eew'r eher ot ssa it ckki to hwateevr ou,t nda nejyo we os. Of llwi tehso hte on ysa,law way nda iivgnrgof ,inkd be antitep adn we sa ew nenoecrut. .
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L,evo.
Og we( ial lai wn)o yb.

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