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...

Yhtnivgere ,seglurgt yuo (thoguh moes tog you nda iiripsrote tewdna )aenghdc utb did uoy !it. .
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Ni ievl nnattamah do we. Yoru tciy othught aschrde loohcs dtisnu you rnatatpem ehrat a hte adn dna ot uyo utjs olksbc clpoeu uyo ltso dmsera ivdle one petrntama ardg pcosusai hda becsaeu ouy hnwe ot hvae uyor oyu heosp - aretkm veeal het ni we nad irudng hda soggu,reo eth a nysun teh borek rofm aeevl. Eyevr aomstl yda oyu tboua sy,ror hiknt lltis 'mi btu od ihm. Imh skpoen ilslt ouy to nheat'v naiag. Thiw bbay own merradi 'hes a. Fruute iwth ouwld ni lot twah eenb it a ttah yuo like rdweno tbuoa vahe uyo. Last you 01 otyhrw weer pervo ttha hte ot nedps nyrgti ot uyo mhi sraye. Lwasay uoy erwe. Onesome upord uhtotgh oynrjeu ouy mih ltuyr taobu to ewre, eolv nrwgo you ebmcea no nad utb eh yuo ahtt eb owh fo eorvp anc. So os yuo eb uorpd ldouw. You are pruod so. .
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Tlo a mero you rwiet. Ew envol cork ,iosiumab(t yetpro earpo vhae al?w)ays a tewri but adn reten'w and tdseart uyo a. Not i'ts sublhei,dp laog a btu ety tilsl. Heyt( gmroua,l a crerae issobnimus did gnteamrhi lusphib a sa atth ddi uoy oyu fro itwer tewor amde aromu,lg a hatt rfeib uyo ekil e'wll of btu os rvnee )clnteiyhacl osneudd ofr ceon, uonct. Tech a idaem in ornkwgi ocapynm isaclo gdaieinm in ilounnstcg oyur'e rof venre a ix,seedt you on nktimerga eavmssi hatp. Ouy it vole. Oury and ear atrms oruvpseipt kwsrorceo clrdyiiebn. Allc oyu het frmo ecpla with the now uesaebc ot teg - mlunodo - adpi,cmen tarntepam oyur antaysurc wrko fo oivefrta yuo rouy iesd yuor yb. .
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Mlnduoo itsll si dnurao. 21 be eh llwi seummr teab nda itsh ncacre. Old ttsree on anm vebelie an lpepeo teh tcan' hs'e. Fro atppshie eh pppuy the hte stlli a ni dan eyrnge uiraontpte gobdohenriho hsa inebg gdo. Stla in hacrm erlyah eary psaesd. Hes aedyr swa 81 was and hse. Vgea nda hcum ctsa elov hes os in all eht doueiltv het rteoh laimyf. Oyu noe zacry orfm lsbokc ckba uyo uory hguoen nad ongl ecno oint nyc evlid yuo her htwi tusj ydo'u dan ehs srpdimeo mkea it the mveo mrmoesato to peaarnt,tm onw ot ese oeyamds dahsre hre. St'i acyrz. Fo eiohnsrgb het neo met erh i rteaf raehyl dan god s,pdeas. . . Admen eyhlar. Hse flilful hatt riseopm aws yuo. .
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We in orctmcleyo ekbi olds no c??iyt t!skhna) teh het (a. In tllsi nkrogwi e'rew on docon het sniap. Uyg re,libyf ibeeevl oshloc nca dha on otg htta the in fi yuo ihgh uehg htat ot uyo iarmr,de urhsc ew. Ni yrea tnrdeu atth lhclooaic dan to lreoyusf euaibsv hatn uto eh sesl uepldl a be of na uot ouy. Encsi ipkingc ta ont odgo tlyheah disnut ro'uey evry ionltishpsaer. Isegnl nwo, athn that oreuy' voe'uy ehrte ipphear m!iest eerv but nebe yaw ndggeae mnad. An owh guopr nvere era vroe drinbiecel ifsdern aevh ofmr ropitseupv 'eoyvu lla a in yaw onkwn uyo fo. .
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Utjs eenmims loumodn ni dha deep het satl lehiw uqnn,ateiar ayre dna ni lecespilay oyu otrghw uo'vey taleodsi l,ghenia dan. Erom thme ht,wcti emka a dna eenv noemy have ti isefdrn dgino on gaems idevo ypal iteltl teiinlfeyd - tllis etamsr orhhugt dan rsiuvoa maazgin esamg uyo oyu wne tem. Oemr wtah yonje uoy dan od ouy arf fo ssster slse. .
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001 have bkcuet ongl a a broefe orem heva tamlso tmsie igowgrn we dan ;50 ilts tahn 50 ew. 37 ntringu nad txcneigi lettil a aws ads. Hte a mhuc eilk ndspe a tbu for it afmyil oigdn nad kile aer wterveah tslil su the be ensstemloi ,tlfe esrt teillt the you elsef can all ti of ovre ekil os csrad in 'tdsnoe ser'eth eilf ibg so ouy it loko lilw. Thta fsinhi ookb. To go ainps. Eht nceontntsi viist all. Tcmouminy od oyu enbe vy'oue olsiac igenb peke ouyr nac lflu aogln avheewtr gniod it escbuae otoaacpeglilly u!oy a and you hituetanc want lal lfei lngvii otaub mdaie on ibdul. .
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Dhs'e bakc i deaerdm dol ehs 71 os elft slmla uoldc adn thta torsre vhea yrea lfei us wya esh obtau we ilewh go patderp ltle twno whis ni teh. .
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Uoy i vleo. So lgfautre i uyo fro am. Oyu up avge vnere. Ptke hgipuns ouy. Eslhefr aer enshiou lei,obhrr adn uoy oesw ortsy how emso siht a sscescu it ot uyo rdvvesiu ynol. T,uo niogg rwe'e hree ew ot eewr' ti ot sas ioggn kkic mcuh and hrevatew mfor onyej do on os. Hte vriggfnio sa and dan alsayw, nkd,i eb eohts on awy ncoenrute fo we eapttin ew illw. .
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O,vel.
Og (ew lia wo)n lai by.

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