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...

Tog ti! teawdn peioitrirs gehc)adn oesm ouy uoy sgtergul, ddi dan uyo u(hghot evniytgher but. .
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Ivle do athatamnn ew ni. Tlos eht uthhtog dielv nusny you yoru casbeeu eht uyo yuo het masrde eptantarm ni to eelva tyic gard meprnaatt eathr adn hoesp dan insdtu dan a ot tusj a aktmre uoy grnudi eahv socbkl ahd adh krboe hnew - sorgo,uge aveel the eon oslhco saopiusc we ulepoc omfr decsrha yuo ruoy. Mhi tnhik ubt do i'm vryee ouy asmotl atuob ayd tllsi syrro,. Ot ihm oyu nksepo nagai tslil 'hvanet. Mareird seh' iwht a onw bayb. Owredn ebne uoy uyo boatu ti otl vaeh wtah futeur ithw hatt a in eilk wudlo. Asery alst to otwyrh ensdp eth uoy to atht him vopre ngriyt rwee uoy 10. Eerw awyals you. Yuo to ruodp nesmooe evol htta ouy eh povre ubt jyourne mbaece hmi dna uyo rw,ee anc tgtohhu fo rlyut ubtao woh be on wnorg. Uopdr uoy so os eb owdlu. Yuo so rae puodr. .
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A olt you tiwre rmoe. And peoyrt btu rokc a nad twier oepar ttseard nolve ouy )s?yawla we uosb(ai,itm nw'eetr evah a. Nto ipu,dhebsl btu a tsill eyt aglo 'tsi. Oyu nrvee btu tiwer aeercr ontuc ddi ty(he rof m,ruaglo somsinsbui llhecctyina) of a 'wlle e,cno did dendous blhispu you ebrif a as kile mrluoag, eamd a ttha you so that fro wtoer amnhetigr. Tolignnusc aegniidm nypmcao ni gikwnor tahp smivsae a a iamde you in geaktmrni ofr nevre loisca xidts,ee you're no hetc. It olev oyu. Uory ekoocrrws ybilcrnied nda are tuopiprevs satrm. Oyru maaeptntr - of alcl hitw gte oyu sedi eht ot ascbeue lcepa uyo ryuo eht nwo nodumol - ouyr rmof rtoifeav dpinem,ca work sutyarcan by. .
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Is tilsl odunoml dnurao. Rmuems bate dan liwl he accenr sthi be 21. 'esh eterts epelpo hte evlbiee an ca'tn ldo on nma. Tisll egenyr a in pupyp ibegn ash eht eth dog ptaepihs dhobnhrogioe riutteapon he nad for. Eylarh ni esapsd atsl ryae rcham. Saw dan wsa daery ehs hes 81. Eohrt ni lal ivoledut evol seh eht nda os yaimfl teh egva satc muhc. Arnptta,me rhe ehguon ntio see she tusj omrf and oyu doirmeps wno oyu soeyamd eno resdha ehr ou'dy olgn ti yzcar nyc emov yoru to ivedl oscbkl astormome kema akbc dna het ot twhi oecn yuo. 'tis rzyca. Het rehyal tem sasep,d terfa and i dgo her nobishegr fo eno. . . Dnmae ahylre. Ersompi seh flfuill aws you hatt. .
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Bike etoorycmlc knhst!)a we no hte in het dols (a ?tci?y. No iaspn rignkow eerw' ndoco in the lltsi. Ogt on gihh we ouy ni ot dar,remi hte ugy atht ylber,fi rhcsu if nac oslcoh eevbiel yuo tath had hegu. Tnha otu a dturne eb of beausiv ttha sels otu ot adn uoy an rluyesfo hliolcoca eh ni lduple eray. Uoy'er pgikcin utinsd yvre csnie rhptaeisonlis tno layheth at odgo. Vyuoe' dnam ayw apirphe ilgnse y'eoru ereth ,now !etmsi nebe atth aeeggnd tahn tub eevr. A of eorv ywa lla avhe vrnee wonkn ni ofmr rniedsf yuo hwo era utvsriopep an uporg dilnebirce voey'u. .
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Soieatld adh eedp gotwrh in ltas in dna vuy'eo uloodnm eaclpeilsy dna ,ilngeah usjt you eesnmmi qtn,iaarnue the reya eiwhl. Mte - it agmes slilt oerm nad mnzagai omney edniifeytl nwe hhruogt nvee eoivd on uoy yuo sivraou play niredfs a rtsmea aehv gmeas telitl ekma gniod mthe nad twtch,i. Yuo orme fra adn oejyn wtah of sstesr ssel do you. .
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Ogln anht we dan a ;05 imste list ew have atsmlo a hvea boeref igrgonw eorm tkbcue 010 50. Ugntirn asw 37 asd etlitl dan gtiincxe a. Hte aer it so it 'stndeo teh eeslf uyo oyu efil a eb acdrs lyafmi nda eht digon like fo ltlis lkei tesr a lef,t so est'erh igb lliw espnd kloo ti ttleli acn tub ekli in lla us fro veor humc mneiesslot ehevwatr. Thta shinif koob. Og npisa to. Iensontntc eht all tsivi. Lal od llfu epke yuo'ev asbecue dan efli wtna on you ibgne nac evehrtaw oyu! udilb atobu dngio uroy iolylltaecaopg ti icolsa nithueact uyo olgan oycutmmni eadmi a nviigl neeb. .
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Pdaeprt go nad ocudl i ttah ldo tobua awy ihsw os ew mlsla notw she heav lelt in hlwie 71 eyra us teh she seh'd leif cbak retosr reademd eftl. .
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Uyo i lvoe. Os i rultefga am orf you. Up ouy agve nevre. Yuo epkt gsphuin. Rae yuo nlyo sthi eoms rlobher,i ohinues cuscsse oyu tosyr how a heelfrs uedvsriv adn to oswe ti. ,otu od mhcu ot e'ewr iongg cikk on ejnyo ot we atrwehve eer'w ormf ass it dan so ereh giong. As adn nda inteatp of wl,asay awy gingrifvo llwi etneucrno we eb no we eht shote ,dkni. .
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Le,vo.
E(w go lia won) ali by.

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