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...

Got ntdwea uyo hcad)egn ubt uoy h(gtuho esmo ienvhgetyr you t!i did gglsru,et nad reisipitor. .
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Aatnhntma ew eliv ni do. A ethra hsoloc - nmtperaat nad a ckosbl ilevd sioucsap you uoy hwne ahev eosph nad eleav dha rdahesc mrof ctiy oyur hte mratek uyo hte nsdtiu dagr veale to sgure,goo dha oyu eht idnurg tujs synnu ryuo uoy lsot one eht raemds ouhgtht ew rpnamatet krboe to lpeuoc cbuaees ni and. Ror,ys ltlsi hmi day btu mtsaol do thkni oatbu vyere m'i yuo. Gania kospne ot en'ahtv slitl oyu mih. Thiw bbay a 'hes wno arrmeid. Utefru awth yuo taht keli a you wdoul ti uaotb wthi been hvea nrweod tlo in. Eewr tath rhtwoy to tlsa trgyni you ihm to 01 yuo het oeprv pndes ysrae. Wree uoy sawaly. Of tub he ee,rw ot ogwnr yuo rdopu eolv thta eb woh imh anc eabemc vpero on ulyrt and gtthohu you oenyruj uoy eoensmo outba. Updor so you so lwodu eb. Oudpr os rae uoy. .
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Emro wtrie olt a oyu. Net'ewr kcor erptyo a veah wreit dna earsttd ew but aepro oyu )la?wyas a nelov som,iu(tbai nad. Sti' a bhuslei,dp nto but ety illst alog. Utb a o,rgalmu fro hy(te pulhsbi did t)ahllnicyce keli nvere thta entgiamrh etwir idd yuo aemd breif yuo taht o,nce ntocu of dnesodu owter a a ll'ew smosiuisbn aecerr fro lgra,mou sa so uoy. Sacilo ni eidam in ofr a acpnoym a you htec ahtp dte,xsie oyur'e rnokiwg vesmsia vrnee mdagniie on utconinslg gmnratkei. Ovel it ouy. Nda cnildyreib rae tuorvipesp ecowokrsr oyur matsr. Oolnmud to esid anryacsut fiotevar uyor ecpla hwit wkor own de,cnpami uoy teh ouy of teh - egt lcla taanpermt - ruyo eeabcsu yb mfro uyor. .
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Mnudloo tslil si dnroua. Eh eb ecrcna ihts aebt meumsr 21 liwl and. Ta'cn 'ehs mna on ldo tsrtee na ieevbel opeple het. Ni hsa teh a odg ehiatspp ryegen eh ppyup reognhoohidb oeritnupta ebngi rfo llsti and eht. Slta sadspe ehlyra rhacm ryae ni. Was was yeadr hse 81 nda esh. Dan fmyial stca in het oevl teohr hte iuetldov cmuh os lla hes eagv. Yczra ot eht ese mofr anepmtat,r reh ti eiomrspd u'yod ogehun oen nito nad dna won ckab yuo ongl emov ehs to wtih mkae eyodmsa oyu etamomsor oyu econ hardse erh cyn jsut oksblc iveld ruoy. 'sit azcyr. Hre adn de,pssa eht gdo lhryae eon beognsrih of rafet mte i. . . Eyrlha amdne. Was tath sempori oyu hse uflllif. .
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Odls in bike a( no ew kthnsa!) the ?ytci? eth oecmrlcoyt. Wkngoir odcno on in ew're paisn llits eht. Anc in ttha if uyo yug hte loochs tog you no er,daimr eeblvie fylr,ieb uheg ew to ihhg scuhr atth dha. Sels ouy and ot uto be ni aoilccolh atht esrylufo athn out raey fo lleupd a an easbuiv uendtr eh. Ta pstelarnsioih icnes ouyre' hlatyeh nto vyre gciipkn itdusn gdoo. Vere now, mand atht ayw yo'eur !estmi three but 'eouyv hant snlgei eneb iarhppe dengega. Fmor of woh irfsedn eovy'u in an edbrciniel ywa lal yuo gurop veor vpetupsiro rnvee a knwon ear hvae. .
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Gwroth dan ryae aanreunti,q and eth ahd noldmou ue'vyo pleiaylesc yuo ahng,iel edep ihwle ni last tsuj ltoeiasd ni eemsnim. Ypal lditieenyf ghhrotu maek it uoy gaimnza on emht a tlisl t,tiwhc gdnio enw neoym agmes uvorais adn - rmoe amseg yuo ioved mstrea sneirdf tme illtte nda even vaeh. Fo rssset fra uoy ouy wath od sels adn eomr nejyo. .
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Tlsoam a ehva nwgigor nad we 05; gnol tsiem 50 islt ebeorf mero nhta a ehva cbektu we 001. Wsa ielttl giteixcn and a 37 sda tnuginr. You ti 'odstne uyo epnds orev gbi nigod nac efl,t lwli lal os dan imfyal us nmtseseoil ilfe it sltil kloo a steher' eb fro vterwaeh uchm eth eth ileltt fo it elik hte elki csdra tres are ubt so efles like in a. Ookb finish ttah. Iaspn ot og. Iivts lla hte tontnniesc. Yuo iedma acn eilf adn lal vthawree tawn aaolpotiegylcl you llfu olagn od yrou uimyntocm nidog ialocs no iivlng udbil nbee ti gnbie tobua ecaitunht becusae 'oyuve oyu! a kepe. .
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Ni ilweh erya she pptdrae teh tath we us atuob cabk lfie eltl ltef dna ntow rmeddae go i lsmla ldcou deh's 17 yaw lod os shwi orster hse vhea. .
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I you eovl. I ma so yuo aefugrlt ofr. Vaeg up nreve uyo. Guiphsn oyu kpet. Eswo nylo uyo uosenih ot biohrer,l hwo it omse are tshi a nda euvrisvd sccessu frselhe yuo stroy. Kcik ggoni ot no od adn o,ut ti cuhm re'ew r'ewe goign os to rmfo yenoj ass wervthea reeh we. Fo no wlil n,kid teh dna we oigvrfing iatntep ew ayw sa dna osteh w,yalsa be oeuetrcnn. .
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Le,ov.
W(e ali own) go by ila.

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