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...

Uh(togh uoy nda yintvrghee sltgge,ur awtned tgo utb !ti uyo mose oyu hadncge) did risotrpeii. .
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Ew leiv ni aamhntnat od. Ecoulp yrou esmrda - ruoy synun in sbaceue pmntaerta oshpe tudnsi uyo form we avhe ujts thaer okcsbl yuo evela kreob dna ahd ltos het dhasecr chsolo lveea hnew uoy to eth ouy rteamk eth tmepaarnt a or,gguseo utgtohh ciyt nda ispoucsa dha durign agdr oen dna eht ot a eivdl oyu. Btuoa imh ro,ysr ervye htikn 'mi you od tub talmos lslit day. Yuo hmi naagi h'nevta tllis ot nseopk. Htiw wno emriadr a hs'e aybb. Uuefrt uabto it wdreno thwa you in a htat whit uldwo eenb hvae lot klei uoy. You ntgriy het ot htat mih edspn to 10 veopr asrye tlsa weer yuo roytwh. Sywala wree uyo. Neeoosm no hmi he ttha ot nwgor ree,w eovl uodrp jynrueo yuo be ytrlu you aceemb uhgotht fo uoy adn tub ervpo uobat who cna. Os ldwou porud so eb uyo. Uordp oyu so ear. .
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Rmeo uoy rwtei a lot. A rtiew eroap a rcko uyo vonel sratdte a,btisi(oum ubt renew't hvea nda ew and sywa?a)l toyper. Ton tey tbu tills i'ts oagl shdbeupi,l a. Ulhbisp ou,lrgam llw'e aemd hey(t taht erreac oyu tcnuo isiumonbss clyihanc)tle ofr tbu atth mua,logr ewrot rfo eenvr dnueosd ignaterhm on,ce rbefi a a as of os you a uyo lkie erwit idd did. Erevn misvsae texs,ide krogwin rfo eimad paocmyn a ni a ni gktinrmae cnulnsgtio no dmanegii htec lsoaci o'reyu you tpah. Uyo it elvo. Dcrneliiyb era dna atsrm ryou cwroersok ervospuitp. Foaeitvr hte tanetarmp thiw ised ouy egt eth fo p,cadnmie yb rouy yrou korw to oyu clpae - - romf ebsceua nysutaarc lalc nwo uoomldn uoyr. .
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Si lsilt arunod nuloomd. Tabe will 12 nda he umresm isht be cenarc. Na no eplpeo rseett bieeevl she' het amn ntca' odl. Het gdo ni enreyg rfo ingbe teh has rpaiutntoe aphpiets sltil pppuy a hodoonrghibe and eh. Seadsp stal carmh ni arylhe arey. And saw 81 hse was hes raeyd. Stca mhcu othre vloe the in lal ylmaif nda os hes geav het tediulvo. Hse bkac rmfo douy' oeguhn once oyru nyc ouy jsut her eht to ntio akem ees aczry adn and to ouy mspderoi oblksc emvo oyu eno rahsde ,aetmanrtp gnol thwi onw smromaeot it ymdeaso edliv erh. 'sit zaycr. Etm nda oen fo hre ertfa ghboerins dgo eht i lryhae ,pssdae. . . Ahelyr dmena. Seh atht emposir asw uoy lilfulf. .
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Tooerccmly hte dslo in (a ew t?cyi? ibke on eht akts!nh). Ewe'r lsitl hte no gokwnir nocod pains ni. Lrefiyb, teh tath we cshru ihgh you if on htta in gto adh uheg ot sclooh yuo yug darmi,er ebeievl can. Ahccllooi be to elludp eary esls ni felsryuo dan uoy a thta out hant eh na utdenr fo out baivuse. Eyvr ayhtehl icgkpin scien 'yerou oogd ta nieasoislphtr tno sdtuin. Wya eaggedn that reve eneb heert tub 'oeuyv esignl mnda thna apipehr w,no u'eory etmi!s. Ernve uvo'ey an riinceedlb all woh ear a wya yuo of eovr veha ni fomr efdsrin kwnno purog vtropiseup. .
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Oyu whlie htogrw ni yrea esyaelpcil adn soledati eiglh,na ,eqinnatura nad lsat ni esneimm duoonml eht had epde sjtu euvoy'. Mte a vahe emgsa - variuos ti no azgamin hwt,tic dovei seridnf emth godin gaesm enve oemr tmesra eiedlytfin adn uhhogtr onyem and wne ltsli illtte pyla yuo you ekma. Nda what estssr ermo yuo fo raf onjey od lses uyo. .
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A eavh 50 nad istl heav kcuetb 50; rgonwig ew ntah tsmola simte we meor 001 reboef gnol a. 73 gunnrti ettlli asd a enigtixc wsa adn. Os etl,f teh hmcu ilke doign a rscda uyo flie nda rt'eseh ttllie lwil senpd ti yuo it be nac fo big all a ovre elsef ubt ymflai isltl hte donest' look ti us os kile leki mnteisloes het ear evwteahr sret in fro. Boko ahtt hnfiis. Og saipn to. Tviis teh all nntstoenic. Flei oslica tnwa tbaou mdeai 'ouvye olagn pltioelaygolac bgnie oyu eekp tiehtaunc ti gdoin gnivil onucymtmi a do aeucebs ebne bduli acn ouy hvtereaw lflu o!uy oruy all dna no. .
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Hse in het os ywa nad go us tonw i swih telf vaeh aeddmre bcka taht pertdpa year eiwlh shde' tlle we dol 71 allms orrets lfei hes botau oulcd. .
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I ouy eovl. You ftgreula for ma os i. Rneve up veag yuo. Tekp nsgihup ouy. Osme it seow who thsi a rae and ohesuni ylon hreilob,r ouy fseherl ysotr to you vdurisev uccssse. Ckik fomr ot od igong dan 'ewer inggo humc tvhaewer so we nyjeo on erw'e reeh ass it ou,t to. On illw entuoercn ,ikdn nda inirovgfg wsy,laa we eht ew as of iptneat nad toseh eb way. .
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Ve,lo.
W(e go ali yb ali nw)o.

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