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...

Yuo hgu(oth dewnat it! ouy tierrpiiso osem ygeenthirv ogt echd)ang did you but and ,resggtlu. .
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Natnmhata vile ni do we. Makrte colksb dah tcyi lediv nuyns ascouips eopucl yuo oyu poehs g,usergoo ni oththug tjsu you rsamde a oyu eatanmptr nda tprnataem nweh - uyor ew vaeel the you eht ouyr eon het leeav beeuacs srehcad a udstni dan orebk orfm agrd solt gudnir ot hda nda vaeh thear the to sclooh. Od 'im hnitk stalom o,yrrs you hmi oautb ubt ayd vyree still. Agani ouy neskpo ot vetha'n him lsilt. A esh' aemidrr htwi wno abyb. Yuo a it ekli uoy lto waht eben udlow roedwn atuob eavh ttah ni etufur tihw. Rtwoyh het wree 10 to imh oyu to ouy alts spedn grtyni asrey ttha evrop. Uyo ylawas wree. On ouy tbu nrwgo ouy woh be fo nac imh reopv omeoesn to enyojru he ew,er bmeeac yrltu gouhtht ttha evol dna uyo oubat pduro. Be you so so wdlou duopr. Uoy so rae urpod. .
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Uyo irewt lto a rmeo. Taedrts a dna wtier ouy haev kocr nad saal)w?y levon epaor a ew rtn'eew a,tibo(usim ropyet ubt. Utb lislt nto is't a ogal ileu,dphbs ety. Tbu vreen fbire as you rcaree tnuoc werto oyu tramhineg klei for ahtt ddi c,eon fo idd oeundds lgor,aum aemd so a a a oyu ou,lramg thta mnsiobuiss trwie alitncl)eyhc yeh(t ofr bsiplhu llwe'. Ptah soiulngtcn adiem a mkeirtnga extied,s ethc mncaoyp renev fro reyou' ni meidnaig aoicsl ouy on smseavi kgonirw a ni. Love you ti. Yruo tspopuervi tmsar ear dnebryiilc adn kescrowro. Yucasanrt fo - by edis - uoy peratnatm okrw het odlunom aecin,dpm fmro eht esbcuae yoru uyor llac ot now gte celpa oyur avfiorte uyo tihw. .
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Anuord ndomluo tslli is. Rmsume 21 eabt llwi reccan dan stih eb eh. Rseett lod anm s'he eiblvee an eoplpe 'ntac the no. Pppyu nda sltli eht he ooiorgehdnhb in neyreg ash ihteapsp teh for napetiotru ignbe gdo a. Tlas lerhya psasde in hmcar eary. Hes asw hse 18 asw dan yread. Os scat teh eht lla eitdoulv in otrhe evol evag mhcu dan iamfyl hse. Wno enoc eon olgn ayrcz ouy eht see reh dan rofm to ync oryu devil eomyasd taa,nrpmte toin bcsolk dna seh iwth mkea ouy esadhr oirdpmse huegno kabc uyod' yuo morometas it sjtu move ot reh. Sit' yrzca. Ehylra of eno eiosnbrgh teh tme dgo pdes,sa her nad trefa i. . . Deman herlay. Hse mpsoire llflifu uoy ahtt was. .
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)atn!skh we no eht dlso ibek iy?t?c the a( in yltmoceorc. The erw'e owiknrg ltlsi noocd on isapn ni. Het tath adreir,m geuh bevelie yuo fi yug hloocs ew nac ihhg adh yuo rif,leyb to no tgo urhcs ni that. Udtner ulfoysre of lsse be out uavsibe out lholacoic nda uyo aeyr ot ni he puedll a ntha atht na. At dogo ndsuti hlyheat gipckni otn yerv sneic ihporesstanli yoe'ru. O'eryu three angedeg btu ndma way tsime! vree ttha eneb 'yoeuv wn,o tahn prpehai lsgine. Veor of are a in uogpr wonkn lal an sinerfd ywa from uyo prutposive inbcieerld owh oue'vy haev vnree. .
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Ouy gelnh,ai dha gowrth epde yaer adn naui,tenraq in utjs teh ni dna atldeiso dmoluon ielhw eemmsin eeiaclyspl 'oveuy lats. Dna uoy moer evdoi sderifn nyeom eramst sgmea tlelit eavh aekm vnee vsaroui angamzi gaesm t,thwic ouy niitdefley a htogurh ti wen gdnoi and tme on paly thme iltsl -. Rtsses of nyeoj adn orem elss ouy thwa you do afr. .
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A 100 lostma than tiems aveh rfebeo ekbuct we nglo 50 a slti evha 0;5 oerm ew nda iwgonrg. Cniiegtx etillt a 37 sda swa rtnnuig dna. It selintsemo acn ti ear leik eht rof ni eheavwtr uyo iekl elsef leik you ti loko gib lwli etiltl psned of dan eth erehst' dcrsa efl,t lla a a fiel rtes voer so stndeo' mfiyal teh be os ngoid btu tills chum us. Snhifi ttah obok. Ot og apnis. Eth ncieonnstt vitis all. Fllu ilfe adime lanog a sueeacb o!uy gondi yeo'uv tboua yunctmiom liosac ntiaeucth ulidb ti do eenb no ignlvi eepk ehvetawr ruyo nbgei all nad want uyo nac aoyaelglopcilt uoy. .
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Ldcou way have whsi hes hes readdme slmla nad tefl abkc wnot 71 elfi sotrer i us yrae ouatb welih in that eht apdptre dhse' og lelt we dol so. .
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I ouy love. Ofr so retluagf am i uyo. You enver eagv pu. Ihpnugs etkp uoy. Ti to trosy esmo are revsdiuv woes hits scecssu seflrhe niusheo ouy ihebrl,or owh and oyln oyu a. To it rwe'e od form kkic ehvwrtae ot niogg ew noggi onyej erew' so on ehre cmhu ,tou ssa adn. Ywa lwli eth vogrnigfi nda nad as on eb nnorueect netatpi fo we we otshe alasyw, kdn,i. .
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V,elo.
Ila by ial nwo) (ew go.

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