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...

Ewatnd otg idd and ouy tub uyo hg(htou endahc)g esmo t!i tgul,regs irtoesprii ouy nihgtvyeer. .
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Od we ni hamntnata ilev. Hcloso - eht aeattmrnp oeugrg,os teh koreb ot ouy suebeac gdar adh in dha dan dna adn a diunst oyu veale pueclo hte gidunr lsto mktrea nsuyn oyu het ehops evldi sarhdec uthtgho osbkcl aveh mofr yuo uoy one sedrma atptranem rahte we a ewhn sciuospa aveel city tujs ot yuor your. Uyo do amsotl boaut revye mi' tlsli hkint btu ,soryr dya ihm. Ihm llist again eaht'nv ot yuo snepko. Itwh onw yabb iearrdm a hse'. Abtuo a thaw uyo have ilke erufut wdoren otl ttha iwht oduwl ti ni bnee uoy. Vproe eth hatt oyu aeysr rewe rhwoyt dsnpe ot ot hmi yuo 10 nygrit tlsa. Uyo ylasaw reew. Olve he tub eerw, wgron tuhgtho no eyurnoj atht tbuao neoemso maceeb nca be orpdu imh ouy lyutr ouy dna evopr of to oyu ohw. So uyo wloud eb dpuor os. So are drupo uoy. .
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Oerm otl itwre uyo a. Ypreto a nolve ntr'ewe poear aevh rcok uos(iit,bam ritwe ew a dan btu uoy tdertas alaswy?) nda. A ety uidpbel,hs lilst utb otn aogl i'st. Erraec rfo as eritw ofr amed so a did bihulsp mruoag,l wreto snsoiimusb but oyu thta omual,gr ne,oc yuo atth ielk rveen llwe' idd a a hrtmingae fo he(yt ecchyinat)ll uoy utnco osdunde refib. Deiam ni no easvmsi vreen d,xteesi cthe cailos phta ni a gaimnied uoyer' tcugnilnso egmtnkiar cmyonap orf a wrgnoki yuo. Ti yuo voel. Iupsrvpoet nda rae oyur owercorks asrtm ybicnrdlei. Canytsrua llac - ouy ot escueba omndoul fivetroa eht of ruoy ieds oury get by aretnpatm uryo laepc - nwo uyo frmo edam,cnpi the rokw wtih. .
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Uaornd lsilt si doumlon. And cnreca eh emmsur lliw abet be htsi 21. Mna na s'he no eht eeliveb olepep old tstere tacn'. Ypppu gdo engrey ofr beodogohnrih aiestphp bnige ltlis ni sah nuortetaip he eth adn a hte. Rhcma ryleah in erya asedps ltsa. And seh she aws erday aws 81. Lal tcas deuivolt olev eth hes so chum aimylf rheot and eth vage ni. It u'ody ehr rcyza see ot someamotr devli ncy uoy aemk itno yseaodm dporsmie rofm she evmo eonc uyo oruy tiwh ckba npatrtaem, nad jstu genuho teh kblcos oyu nad arhdes won rhe to ognl eno. I'st yarcz. Mte gdo ,sdeaps hrinogbse het aheryl one atfer hre of i nad. . . Maend rhaley. Pmesior ehs uoy atth swa liflluf. .
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Tccrmlyoeo a( ?c?yti kbie teh in we olsd asnkh)t! eth no. In cdoon no inkorgw hte spnai sillt re'ew. Beivele ahd het anc sruhc eugh no ighh if mirer,ad to fibyr,el ygu uyo atht tath csoohl in you we got. Eb to and hatt uot anht dellup eh a sles in oocihclla uot eyrulsof fo enrutd you an raye sviuaeb. Ta pgcinik odog yor'eu reyv tusdni cines neihtapsosilr ont yhhatel. Eben won, gaegedn ahtn three te!sim ahtt awy ubt re'yuo reev yuv'eo adnm seling iahprep. Eervn uyo na aer vueostppir uyve'o iirbclende how roev rsdeinf ni hvea awy omrf lla of a kwonn ougpr. .
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Ni ayer eepd ie,ghanl nmmeeis in uaatniqre,n eihwl dan leyclpsaie ouy tadoseil udomoln dan aslt hte ohwgrt jtsu yu'veo dha. Nda a dan ettlli digno - dievo uyo tw,ihct ehav tisll lidetneyfi othhrug oyu seatmr endifrs more emka plya seamg esmag on ruvisao htme aaigmnz eenv nyeom it met wne. Wtha arf uoy ssle nda neyjo roem do fo you sesrts. .
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Fobere 05; mero ew we nolg dan ubektc 05 anth ehav a slti 001 eitsm otlams ehva a wringgo. Asw 73 utrnnig xntcgiei dan dsa tltile a. Eilk ikle ikle het be os het etsr ni tehrs'e dan os tlf,e efesl nlsseioetm oyu lltsi atwehver tub esdpn the a it lal a yuo for aer acn it much loko gib srcad fo iongd oerv us flie liwl lyiafm it es'otnd itllet. Siihfn okbo htat. Ot go nsipa. Vsiti the enstnnctio all. Uoy bene lbuid ithuctena madei tmcmnyuoi it oceyilltlaogap diong epke lulf yuo tuabo do ouvye' uaesbce leif cliaos lal dna acn antw no ingvil a loang y!uo yoru gnieb vwrethea. .
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Yrae elif i we deh's etfl in yaw heva amlsl ehs go wotn hwlei hse os su arepdtp iswh nda tboua abck eht cdulo dremdea htta trsero ltle 71 dol. .
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I you elvo. Am yuo i eaurgtfl os orf. Uoy pu evag erven. Iugspnh oyu etpk. Nda a sesccus eivudvsr nyol to owh siht it frlhese oyu enhsuio are yuo irleob,rh otsyr smoe weos. Enjoy ew sas to inggo ggoin nda uot, terhwvae rfom on cumh rewe' kcki od 'ewer os it reeh ot. Adn we gvfioigrn ew way tapnite of sa on be unroetnec n,kdi dna las,yaw hte iwll hstoe. .
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Elvo,.
Yb lai go e(w )nwo ial.

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