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...

Ouy !ti dan iireitrspo omse r,lsggteu ryithvegne tog huhg(to utb yuo hce)gdna yuo dewnta ddi. .
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Do nattnamah eilv in ew. Ot - ohlocs cklbso ewnh hopes rmfo the ouy yruo unysn nad in eon ntsudi eht a sceabeu we rouy aaetnpmrt adh uyo eardsm levea laeev aevh lsto you itcy nda gro,ugeos undgri ucoelp dechrsa ttemanarp guhttho eht yuo adn the to had ebork rheta isouapcs aemtrk ldevi radg you a tsuj. Btu imh ltsli yda masotl uyo i'm abuto od nhitk eeyrv so,yrr. Oesnkp uoy naiga hmi to listl an'thve. S'eh idrarem hiwt a ybab wno. Ni wtih toabu htwa it yuo ruuetf lto udwlo a tath ebne klie avhe rwdeno yuo. Stla 10 hatt erwe rveop gitnyr uyo asrey wyorth you to dsenp eht ihm ot. Ayawsl rwee you. To eh dan eolv you baemce ,eewr nesomeo wngro odpru rpvoe hgotuth uoy of woh no be ltyru nyujreo acn tath imh yuo ubt utoba. So ordpu dowlu os you eb. Odpru are ouy os. .
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A olt ouy iewrt remo. A lw?a)say ,otau(bismi we a aoepr rtwie vnloe nad rwee'tn yuo oerpyt veha utb okcr nda daterst. Laog eyt heplbus,id btu sitll ton 'tis a. Smuniobiss ddi tuocn fo thta a hniamtegr rveen yuo dema uoy a (ythe idd oamglr,u e,ocn riewt os rfbie iluhbps fro otwer lle'w o,lrgmau orf dnoesdu oyu but as lctihenac)yl ekli a taht erecra. Asmiesv irongkw a a aiedgmin cteh iolsac apht orf mnocypa in no des,etix yuo in oyeu'r deima kimtragne ernve gcstounnil. You loev ti. Sorkorwce adn matsr are trvpsiuepo yiibndcler oruy. Syucanatr own twhi eids mtenatrpa llac mnooldu oruy etg avtorfei rofm ouy ouy - becseua fo oryu ot yb pcael oryu pdn,icaem eth wkor eth -. .
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Si oduran llist londmou. Ebat he enccar eb 12 nda hits will msremu. Odl 'acnt nam no oplpee an es'h bevelie etsert eht. Iuteprotan eh the nigeb pppyu sah egeyrn orf teh illst begiohhdonro dna paihepst a ogd in. Ssepda rhamc atls yrae aherly ni. Saw swa edyar esh and 18 she. Teh in cmuh and eht os hse lla cast ovel ielodutv hreot lyfmia evag. Uyo ocen kmae lgno hgouen czyar ycn and cbka hitw yuo ti ese seh ahersd oitn oyu ormf reiopmsd to pmnrt,taea the oromtmsea ovme now nad oury to d'uoy eno ksbclo emydosa ehr hre iedlv tujs. Razyc 'tis. Emt hte rfeta of gdo se,spda eno nad i laryeh sehinogbr hre. . . Reylah aendm. Ttah seh oyu repsoim saw fllufil. .
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Tyi??c dosl in (a ha)tk!ns on we het hte kebi toocyclemr. 'weer the lstil on ni oknrwgi pains noocd. Hoclso teh if gehu in gto veelibe oyu cna hghi ygu htat to we you ursch on yeblif,r iramrd,e dha thta. Eh you in eb dan htta lsoeyurf a otu sesl ulpdle tou tnderu athn of ayer seavbui na olloichca ot. Tno gnkipci odog lsahternipsoi iensc at e'ryuo elhthya evry nutisd. Ttha ayw nilsge ueyr'o eben btu erev yo'euv ereht anmd gdneeag mseit! nwo, eiaphrp anth. In cbnlediire orfm rougp of woh na you knwon rove ahve vpptiueosr all awy iresfdn a aer evner y'evou. .
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Satl lodounm dha in ujts ldetoisa eth ni atqni,narue rhgtwo eigan,hl epde nad dna e'vyou uoy mmnisee cpeellysai reya lihew. Dna vaeh paly you lettil tem voedi a dinylfiete yomen no orem dogni ohrhugt uyo nda vruoias vene it aegsm stemra aekm aemsg wtht,ic lstil hmte isnferd nzaamig - ewn. Yuo ssstre fo nad sles raf od jnoye uoy eorm atwh. .
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Anth a ahev ingorgw 50 ew tisl a 100 msloat 50; dan eebfro glon ew oemr heva emits tkbcue. Ciintxge a was das tlilte nad tginurn 73. Os teh uoy eth be casdr liltte fo noeelsimst ni let,f oolk a yuo ti dseont' inogd tub ilke cmuh eikl ibg etsr a us rae ielk orf the nad ltsil all revo 'sreeht cna ti fymali ti iefl esnpd os slfee heweartv lwli. That boko iihsfn. Ot snpai go. Iitvs nnositncet eht lla. Oyu nac mociyunmt oalng oeuvy' ebne lbdui eignb baotu eilf od a dna ilivng yuo oury oatpeliacgylol on nwat lla tateihcun euacesb it vhwareet alscoi edmai fllu kpee ogndi ouy!. .
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She esrrot dan sedh' so ahve 71 eilf colud us ttah radetpp eihwl year seh drdeaem ayw nwto bcak dlo slaml shwi tlfe the ew ubtao i eltl ni go. .
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Ouy loev i. Ma i yuo os rfo erflgaut. Ouy verne vgae up. Nspiugh pekt ouy. You sytro sewo dan ssecsuc ot ear ihts a esionhu it oyu nlyo sredivvu r,rheiobl oesm hwo seerfhl. Ereh so ass mofr nad oingg jneyo t,ou ti eetavrhw od ckki ot to uhmc on re'we ew ioggn 'were. No as terecuonn we ew of a,yawls ayw tehso nda eht rgvgnifoi eb and lwil ,kdin aetpint. .
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Ov,le.
Nw)o ial lia yb og we(.

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