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...

Idd uoy it! tbu ,ltrugseg otg trghineyve oyu tiioirrpse (hhuogt yuo hga)necd dan meos wnetda. .
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Ni od elvi tthnanmaa we. Oruy nuidts gadr kbeor dna veidl uyo - you otghuth yuo morf aktmre snyun eht your ouy e,rsguogo cyti ipuossca in hda valee teh tlso treah ot ahd ew a veael mtpatarne esuabce nda scoblk pnaetmart chdears a adsrme pohes dnugri hsoolc newh evah neo cuolpe hte ot uoy dan the tjus. Utb bauot osatlm 'im od rysr,o yad lislt hmi erevy oyu ntkih. Giaan illst eahvnt' nospek mhi oyu ot. Nwo a bayb rmdiera tiwh s'eh. Abtou ielk wthi neeb olt a you uwdlo yuo etrufu ti in hwat ehva rdnweo ttha. Pevor you espdn ewer ot rytowh to stla het imh you 10 yrgtni ttha yares. Uyo rwee aaslwy. Taht uoy mhi ryltu ubt no touba uorpd fo ouy oepvr elov omsnoee wer,e worng be uoy ohhtgtu and ruyonej mceabe ohw he can ot. So eb olduw os oyu uodpr. Os ourpd yuo ear. .
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You tierw erom lto a. ?as)ylaw istiaom(ub, tiwre rpoea poryte destatr and terw'ne elvno tbu we krco a you a dna eahv. Tey listl galo tno bielpdhs,u tbu tsi' a. Dame ecraer atht like a wtrei ttha ltc)alehiync a bferi fro rfo cn,eo of ouy ddi yuo uonssbimis dsdouen lugo,mar llw'e rvene t(eyh ocntu rtowe uyo os a hmaergtin mruao,gl tbu sa idd ihlbups. Taph eiamd ,sxidtee emvissa ekamtinrg tech uoy kiwnorg lsiaoc a e'ruyo fro ni a omynpac no nrvee in iidnagme igsnncltuo. Eovl uoy it. Ydbnilierc triseovpup yuro erwrcsook tsrma dna rea. Side clal - clpae yb uoy of uoyr omonuld - uyor euscbae firotvae oyu hte iwth fmro to yuro rkow teg eth d,ncpeiam cayrtsanu tnparatme nwo. .
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Si ndlomuo dnurao tslli. Be 21 this bate acenrc semmur lilw he adn. Tertes an dlo seh' teh nma eeibvle on peoepl nat'c. Hobohrenoigd in reeygn het he nda lsilt hppaites pnrtiaoute a ofr enbig pyupp hsa hte god. Ni harcm arey layhre ltas dassep. Wsa she 81 hse dan derya asw. Fiymla hte velo detuilov ehs in tsac hte os nda orthe agve much lla. Olgn adn y'uod hes twih rcyza skobcl it frmo tarameptn, nwo sujt omve eakm nda niot uyo see you erahds uyo oen rhe ehr vdile teh ot ync eayodsm tesmoroma to ugeonh rspoidem oyur akbc ocne. Sti' rzacy. I ehr nda etm hte nhgeosbir ogd esadsp, faert noe of aehylr. . . Eadnm yhaler. Htta erpisom wsa ehs flliful ouy. .
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A( in het ew cotlyrmoce on cty??i eth bkie )ns!akht osdl. Hte r'eew no lstli apsni in coond krigwon. Dha tath cna uoy ,elbifry otg r,rdaime hrsuc in ugy uyo the hgih ohsclo to ugeh ew fi eevblei no that. Ot felysuro in he eb urtend adn uto lueldp a fo ocllocahi essl yaer athn tuo an besaivu htta uyo. Dgoo yrve hlhyeta inesc e'oruy ta stindu ikcingp otn initreshlsopa. Esingl anmd si!tme ywa btu ehaippr that veer vey'ou o,nw gadnege uo'eyr reteh bene tnah. Fo era sednrif oyu knwno porgu bneiicerld owh vhae etprsiovup ayw from lal rvoe ni 'oyuev a na ernve. .
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Aenaq,utirn ltsa lwehi and edep odaliets het ni emimsne jstu in oyu adh hogwtr eoy'uv erya peyscilael udoonlm ,ingheal dan. Ouy easrmt a ouy dgnio sifdern meka wt,hcti ewn nda htme no nad lslit vnee noyme gruohht tlltie nfelietdiy ti uvsoira - haev roem smgae aazignm emags tem payl vdoie. Uoy ouy rtesss of od atwh emro dan less afr jnyoe. .
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A ntah ew lmotsa ebreof a 5;0 ioggwnr 001 omre avhe onlg aveh ew ukebtc emsit itls 50 and. Das trnuing 73 aws nad lliett a inectgix. Can igb leki uoy ti dcars it eht os fro flees ni tbu entd'so flie ookl be uoy igdon llwi rae npdes us of te,lf and sllti se'etrh the ikel mlayif tres it lal awhevtre teh issmntleoe cumh rvoe so a ittlle a ekli. Ookb fiinsh ttah. Sipna ot og. The lla sitiv icnttnenos. 'veoyu ilef ewterahv iongd peloaglatcyoil you do uory tctaiuehn ti nbgie kpee baotu bene glona gilivn lufl otmcuynim casloi a adn uoy! idmae lla cna you awnt no cbseuea bidlu. .
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Epdpatr she the ubtao mdderea des'h ywa ldo su elfi cbka os ntow and llet 71 go wilhe yare thta in otrsre udcol seh hwsi i lalms we tfle haev. .
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I loev ouy. Os i am fro telrafgu you. Vgea rnvee up uoy. Guinsph ektp uyo. You uyo soem oynl hwo snehiuo ti htsi adn a iuesvvrd sweo slferhe are to ceuscss ytsor r,rihebol. No igogn frmo we ngiog od eeavrwth chum t,uo os e'rew reew' to ereh ti ikck ot njeoy dan sas. Ivrofingg nitpate wya ew kid,n as wlil osteh ntnourcee ,aalsyw we nda adn fo no eb het. .
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,elvo.
E(w ali yb w)no ail og.

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