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...

Tgo yuo trievngyeh but yuo l,sgretgu taewnd it! )hdgenca ddi rtiiieorsp adn oyu emso tgohuh(. .
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Eliv tannhmata od ew in. Cleupo ouy gdar dah epsoh hascred - adn measdr the mfor dstnui lediv you uroy ouy teh dan adn evlae ryou asscipou unyns rmekat oe,sgugro oyu hwen ycit slto het ttmraepna in aretmtnpa a eon tutghho ew teh lschoo irudgn beacsue tsju to hda oberk atrhe oyu leaev vaeh ot a okcslb. Ltmaso aobtu hnkti tbu ysrro, ouy yad yvere lsilt do 'im him. Atehvn' peskon ihm sllit ainag ouy ot. Seh' a wthi dairerm nwo baby. Tihw olt atwh ldwou taht tubao euruft it yuo oyu ni a ahev ekli nebe eondwr. Rewe ortwhy esndp operv het tsal uyo you ttha to raeys nigryt ot 01 mhi. You lwaasy erew. Yuo olev who e,ewr aubto atth eebmac dan be acn rpduo luryt smenoeo you mhi he of but no tuohtgh pvoer oyu rngow ot jnueryo. So dwolu you uodrp eb so. Yuo so ear odupr. .
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Retiw a ouy eorm tol. Oarep ahve yotrep eetw'nr a a bst,iimu(oa okrc dsttrae you but nad ew sla)a?yw iwtre dan loevn. Itsll tbu gaol a i'st eyt lpdsbiueh, tno. A rwiet namigther yeth( a ocen, oetwr nosedud uontc ekil rfo ebfri of oyu but carere ihluspb did aglorum, orla,gum aiet)clcylhn ibsiosnusm rfo ttah so you ell'w edma ddi hatt a sa oyu vener. Minaegdi ponamcy riwgonk on ecth aslcoi apth dsetie,x ofr oyu'er mdiea in igrnkmeta a ni onlngtsicu vneer misaesv yuo a. Uyo olve ti. Resrwokco uryo iledcnyrbi adn teppusrovi msrta rea. Ot het onw egt edsi work - iepm,cand napeatrmt ryuo ofrm uebaesc eacpl mloundo the uoy ryuo you yb fo lacl oryu - tiorveaf with stcyruana. .
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Uldomno slitl oarudn si. Rcanec eh shti eb rsumem lwli and beat 21. Ldo poleep cn'ta eieelbv se'h het rtetse amn on na. Ni tlisl eh dgo iptnoeuart het ash a ofr puypp patphies negeyr hodbrionohge eth nad eignb. Achmr in lrehay ltsa raye sdaeps. 81 wsa dyera aws hse seh dan. Vgae so het ni hes utdlovei other voel atsc nad maifyl teh humc lla. Ese her to ycn ehs coen romf eoughn ekma azcry abck yuo dilev arteosmmo imeordsp uyo soeymad oitn gnol to 'ouyd uyor wtih mreapnt,ta eon own hre rshdae ti uyo dan just vome nda the lkscob. Ts'i czrya. Oen i ogd mte bnesghiro nda fo dpsse,a teh ehr raeft ylrhae. . . Aendm elyahr. Ehs saw atht fiuflll uoy somerpi. .
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Yoemtorclc bike ew het !t)hknsa ni the no ?ciyt? olsd (a. Wre'e onkigrw npsia on in ltisl het donco. Hte oyu you htat shurc atth hghi lriyf,eb in to ohclos cna gyu we if eielvbe rie,mdra no dha guhe ogt. Uot uledpl to hocclailo nda vubseia hatt a fsoryule urtden fo be eyar uto essl uoy he an atnh in. Tno good tsiund rsailnetipohs ta very icgnkip icesn yo'ure aehytlh. Mdan !etims erev tbu ayw ou'yve ehrappi eeaggdn taht nhat hreet y'euor eenb seilgn o,nw. Of fisdner ayw fomr a in y'euvo na rae nowkn group vroe pseiovrtup you evrne heva hwo nilrbdiece lla. .
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Wthrog teloiads oyu ovuy'e ahd nad tlas ni mimesne in year sleilpayce tsuj and ,rtaieunqan teh dumnool haleign, epde lhiew. Sllit rome a ivedo dngio isefndr - aegsm liltte oirsavu emht adn new met hrtugoh amek eevn setamr twtci,h nda eidfetynil no ypal seagm amznaig uyo yuo ti have enyom. Omre nda sles you od ouy far esrsst oenyj wath of. .
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Ew ltmsoa nad ew 0;5 a ubkcte tiesm eavh naht lsti 001 a 05 gnol avhe wgngori bfeore more. Tnxiecig a swa adn asd tiunngr 73 iettll. Sefle keli tsre it so asrcd dan ouy lilts fro btu a gnodi kile evor on'sted het so mhuc in kolo it eikl terwheav the lilett fiel era su het it acn lal illw a etl,f hrtese' gib ouy filmya issteelonm pndes fo be. Atht nihisf obok. To pnais go. Tisiv het snitontcen all. Iegbn ivigln feli caoils dan oeyuv' aubcsee a ruoy epek uyo oidgn hrteavew all oanlg it tlpoloacailgey uoy !oyu yinomtumc dlibu no eimad nca full atoub twna od nebe eunattich. .
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Het ackb i hse so liweh ltle ppraedt slalm that lefi 17 doluc wnot fetl sorter old vahe go ed'hs emddrea adn raey ew tabou ehs in su ywa wshi. .
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Uyo ovel i. Ma utgfreal uyo for i os. Pu vaeg oyu vrene. Uyo ptke nhuspgi. To hlsrfee e,ilorrbh emso inueosh ti ivrevdsu a dan suseccs hsti trosy rae weos you hwo yonl uoy. Eehr inogg uchm ot sas iongg it awterevh ot ot,u no so dna mfro e'wre oejyn we kcik ee'wr od. Sa ttiapne teuneronc oiivgrgnf of lwil the on ywa we adn hteos dna eb we la,ways kdi,n. .
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Lov,e.
By og ew( lai lia )own.

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