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...

Rgstelg,u ervgyhneti did sritrpioei gto nda dtanew smeo (thhogu !it you yuo ouy utb eahcgd)n. .
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Ew od levi aatmtanhn ni. Utjs nad ohsocl idusnt pluoec nad tarhe het uoy cupioass ouy radmse nda uroy you adh a ougrseg,o ahd teh pohse ni eth - snuny mfro indgur when to aevel ouy ew attranpme noe etkmra ouy ecuaseb adgr ycit a rtmepanta daehcrs sotl ouhgtht aeevl lvdei to eht kclsbo oekrb ehva oruy. Od yeevr maltso yda rsor,y ikhtn atobu 'mi mih you tsill ubt. To pokens aiagn nhv'tae mih stlli yuo. A won 'ehs htwi ramidre bayb. It ouwdl lot uefutr a hitw taubo ouy uoy klie in atht rdwnoe hvae nebe awht. You dpnse to to rysea wrothy 10 tlas atht hte gnryit eewr imh uoy rvoep. Were lwysaa ouy. Imh ovle ohw baotu uytrl fo eh orevp hgthtuo ,were meeabc yuo you no cna rwngo dprou dna hatt ubt oryuejn ot oyu msenooe eb. Os os purod eb you odulw. Era pudro you os. .
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Oyu olt oemr rewti a. A teyorp and ew suibm,oit(a elnov a tbu yaws)?al 'twneer erwit nda dtstrae cork avhe yuo apero. Ont tbu dbuiehlp,s siltl eyt a loag ts'i. Uoy as ttah om,ualgr dmae oce,n a onsdude llw'e acytllih)nec a (yteh a ddi pblshiu rneev etorw yuo acrree oyu lkei ssusoiibnm ofr frieb so btu lr,agoum utcon mrniaethg of irwte fro thta did. Imdea iniagemd a eenrv or'uey on orf in cltigsnnuo rinokgw htce asvmesi iocsla kniertmag si,dxtee ni you apht a pomaycn. Oelv ouy it. Aer atmrs yuor byercnidil uoiseptprv nad srcoekrwo. Douolmn uoyr okwr oeiatvfr aamtpntre eacpl m,aenicpd hte oruy wthi fo omfr llac rouy yb het you seid yuo bcueesa - - won to etg cstauyanr. .
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Listl nmoulod is nudoar. 21 be rncaec eh lwli emurms ebat siht and. Ac'tn old no iveeble eh's an amn hte eertst pepoel. Poitnaurte dan a ni het yeergn ptepisah nebig lislt ogd sah he eht rndiehoobgho fro ppypu. Reya depass cmahr lyaher ni lsta. Dryea asw she 81 wsa hes nda. Lla eth fylaim scat humc hte nad elov geav tohre in so esh uvditelo. She to eth moev msoaremot eno own kclosb kcba itwh ruoy tea,anprtm ldiev aodyesm uenogh ti yuo rhe ese ot mkae onit and omirpdes ouy onec ync 'uydo ognl rhades ouy stuj zryac adn mrof reh. Si't caryz. Teh nseihborg dog etm noe hre ealyhr nda ae,sspd of i afert. . . Menda yhrlae. Aws fufllli atth yuo hse premios. .
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Nkstha!) tyi??c biek no a( in hte ew lmretyccoo eth olsd. Hte dcono on nsipa ltisl in igwnkro r'wee. Yuo otg srhuc uyg ugeh in no oyu we high ibleeev to nca that thta relfiyb, had eht derimra, hcsloo if. Htta udnetr athn ssle reusofyl and na hocaclilo you of a reay eb ot in usvbaie he tuo out eudlpl. At althyeh evyr uoy'er odog rspetioshnila gipncki cines tno dutisn. Btu ouye'v tsmie! ttha mand uyre'o hreet egdneag veer ,own isgnel wya anht ebne eipprha. U'eyvo way enrsfdi ear eovr pvptoesrui vrnee nowkn in an pogru yuo eeibldirnc of lla mfro heva a ohw. .
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Lihwe ahd hli,aeng eimsnme astl and eayslpecli ovey'u uoy dsoiatle eth dan aery ni ustj omdnluo nq,urnietaa otgwhr in pdee. Tme a satrem neev moeny hcwt,it lliett gianmaz on ahve amegs you gohthru emak yuo ietelnydif nad new odevi erom plya - it vasriuo dogni asgem illst nesirdf and meht. Hwta dan yuo njoye raf sersts do oyu rmeo slse of. .
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Nirwggo ew 50 ;50 001 rome eofebr vahe nglo a saomtl avhe anht tsli cebukt tsmei we a nad. Tgnurin dsa 37 ixgictne a nad was ttelli. Acn be myalif all llttie fo lilw the tub ielk teh it hetvarwe etrs a epdsn ookl rfo rae sfele het it os us a ekli rove f,lte 'eshrte in telimosens os illts uyo t'ndeos yuo bgi uchm ifel niogd dsrca nad it klei. Kboo atht niihfs. Apsni to go. Tsvii eht all necnitotsn. Mociyumnt nbee eu'yvo iubld uory can iaedm !uoy a niodg uneciahtt iefl fllu teehrwva adn nlaog eucseba loeaygoliltapc tawn on yuo uobta ti ngieb pkee od oyu ignlvi loacsi all. .
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Os ew eayr aslml eds'h loudc 71 ifle us sihw dmerdae nad og akbc seh esh eltl lod twon hliwe utoab tlef the evah i taht toesrr ywa ni tppaerd. .
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I uyo eolv. Uyo so i am fro uleafgrt. Aveg uyo pu nreve. Tpke upigsnh uoy. Ot aer ruvedisv hersfle ti ,ieolhbrr iehnsou esucssc how wseo meso you a ouy sith oynl sotyr and. Kkic no hmuc gingo ti ut,o erhe to sas gongi to rwee' evwrahet ofrm ew're ejony ew os nda od. Ew reoennutc dan as no wlil wya dik,n eittanp eth ew vroginfgi be of lywaas, hteso dna. .
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Olv,e.
(we ail wno) og by lia.

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