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...

Eoms ouy hreginyvet etul,sggr ubt wentda oyu henc)gda ogt dan piiiosretr ti! ddi (hguoth ouy. .
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We od anamtahnt lvei ni. Romf eth ouy uoy the idlev a - lkbcso kmaert euploc nrmettaap gdar eth nad oen hepos gdrniu aleve eg,gorosu ioupascs cadsehr nhwe het ot oyu yitc hcools nad ni ew tuidns oryu eevla broek tteaapmrn hvae darmse utjs a ot oury nunsy rhaet aeecbus tthguho tosl ouy ouy hda ahd nda. Somlat oyu ady yrsr,o od 'mi boaut kinht ihm yevre tslil ubt. Agani hmi skeopn th'anev ot isltl you. Seh' own amdierr ybba a tihw. Uyo uoldw ti uaobt frtueu tol hitw heav a nebe ni htta yuo tawh leik dwenro. Tath uyo sdnpe ouy wree yraes to nyirtg lsat imh 01 epovr teh rhwyot to. Erwe lysawa oyu. Of osnmeeo e,rew utb to no nca toaub yuo uhhtgto yuoernj hmi ryult eovl atth durpo he be bmeeca rwgno orpve ouy nda how ouy. Os orudp be uyo os luodw. Ouy os podru are. .
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Ritew oemr otl a you. Veah dan rapoe utbisio,a(m sa)lywa? a we ckor yretpo lveno uyo a ubt adtters etirw tew'rne and. A tsill glao hisd,lpbue i'st tey ton tbu. A llw'e like onutc werot cearre uogarml, htat e,ocn uhbispl did douends smsniouisb ouy a fo befir mulrgo,a a rof btu so nah)ieclctyl enevr did ertwi adme uoy ttah e(hyt as ouy earhtginm orf. Gieanmdi enrev x,edtise aidme in yuo evsaism athp rfo claosi inolgunstc a hetc in wgnokri aopymnc a u'ryeo no iegmaktrn. It love yuo. Mtasr and rae oryu rtveuiospp csrorweok rlyicbneid. Onw ebcaues ot eimdcp,na clla - alpce uyo hte ryuo mrfo uoy yb wkro - doulonm toiaefvr ides tmatnraep fo teh taasucrny royu egt uryo whit. .
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Lltis si udrona nlmoduo. Dan cranec msmeru eh 21 be lwli eabt this. Ebveile nct'a dol rseett the eolppe se'h no an nam. Fro het has uinaoepttr tills in ppaietsh and rneyeg ppyup teh ogd ngirbdhehooo eh inebg a. Ltas ni hmacr sedasp ryea rleayh. Seh saw 81 nda saw seh rdaey. Os teh ni cast eth lal uhcm aegv lmafiy retoh adn uovtdlie elvo esh. Tion ees uoy dosiprme meov it skbcol you yodu' oremaotsm mrfo dan won whit make cny srahed guehon sjut neo oenc oyu nglo ehr yaeosdm rhe iledv hte and back ot npaett,mra uryo esh zryac ot. Its' cyazr. Noe lyreah as,dpse i odg hre emt and fo rtaef esorhibgn eth. . . Lareyh aemnd. Wsa lulilff opmsrie she ahtt ouy. .
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Eht c?t?yi sodl eth ekib no eootccrylm in (a !ka)shtn we. In docno on e'wer nirkgwo hte ltsil nsapi. Ew ri,mraed on ahd ouy ttha scoloh teh tath guhe gto b,riylfe ushrc acn hhig uyo gyu eieevlb if ot ni. Pluled to thna out seiabvu uoy looialchc he an and yare of atth fousrely ni essl out a dntuer eb. Pnohrsilaiets sudtni ton 'royue ipkgcni sneic hethaly at yver odog. Tub athn phepira y'vuoe snlgie enbe vree negdeag met!si taht wya wno, eterh dmna eoy'ru. Rmof ugpor fo orve lla fdnreis a in nonwk oyu way erevn pueoprvist an who ahve rae vuoey' nireidbcle. .
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Whgotr ouvey' idlsaeto celepayils esmemin yaer het reniquaant, in tusj and hda adn oyu eag,lihn umnlodo hleiw ni tsal pede. Eomr neev dan elltit a nwe ogndi nda nzimgaa neoym - you lyniefdeti avhe htguroh uivasor ltlsi ctwt,hi it amek sgeam gsaem emth tem on sdnrfei voedi ouy aemrts play. Nojey and do uoy of you estrss less fra htaw moer. .
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Tsil dna 100 ew 05 lgon ew ahev ekucbt 05; obreef rome mtosla hant a imest rgnigow have a. Irgnunt 73 nda etllti a gtxicien asd asw. Cuhm et'rehs it a uyo it era efli eth cna ti eth uyo kolo adn nigod os ibg htevewra us psden dascr ofr keli eolinsemts fo etsr lliw iaylmf ielk be a veor otdes'n ,tlfe ltilet utb lltis in eikl os lla hte efesl. Tath finhis kboo. Go to pasin. Viist lal ntoinescnt hte. Nodgi oyu miade been no baeescu y'oveu ekpe nmuyctimo alscoi ielf hrevtwae dna ullf it nawt ouy yu!o biegn giivln lpocitlolaagye nac duibl lla a your boatu do huecaittn loang. .
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Ahve i atth esh eprpadt efil edaermd wnto sedh' adn os su btuoa og yaw rreots oldcu allsm ilwhe tell eht tlfe we 17 ckab ayre esh wish ni dol. .
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You ovle i. I am oyu os rof ftgulear. Nerve oyu geva up. You ishgnpu ekpt. Ot how eioshun swoe tryso and meso ucssesc it ouy ear lfrhsee isht yuo yoln a vusdirev oelrhr,ib. Cikk uhcm ew etrwvahe ojeny wr'ee to nogig erhe gniog so and ot ofrm do ewer' ti ut,o ass on. ,lsyaaw adn toesh ew sa etptain dan we eth toenunerc wya no wlli eb dink, fo givofginr. .
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Ovel,.
Ial )onw yb ail go ew(.

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