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...

Etivgneyrh tlsugerg, ouy meos oyu uoy dan ubt huhto(g did adwent enacgdh) iterspiori it! otg. .
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Ni tnanmthaa we eliv do. Aevh het itcy eth aicsopus agdr ouy epsoh oyu rptnmtaea teh eaatrpntm roekb ot had ew dan hohugtt uyo oury ceolup eth ewhn ltso osolhc one ntdius rugnid a uory a hda - terha mtaker rdsecha ouy dan lcksob rosoggeu, form aeevl velae vdeli to rdaesm unysn stju dan in you cbeasue. Rsoy,r baotu im' utb verye imh tomlas do itsll knhti you yda. Litsl skepon to uoy gaain mih 'henavt. Bayb a onw rermiad he's twhi. Ti wndore ilek obuta ahtt tlo ebne oluwd uoy eufurt a tahw aehv uyo wthi in. Tiygnr seayr mih vpeor htyrow ahtt eht nedps 10 eewr to slta you ot yuo. Weer aaswly uoy. Durpo he bouta nad oemosen uyo on enrjuyo ytlur to hwo eecmab uoy ovper tath wer,e nworg anc lvoe btu of him be uyo uohthgt. Os eb uoy oudrp os duwol. Rae os produ uoy. .
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Uoy a mero otl wtire. Ew adterst b(stoami,ui weitr loven adn oreap crko yl)asw?a eyport n'twere a a uyo heva dna btu. Glao pulhedibs, eyt ltsli a but sti' ton. Evner nec,o msosusbiin uoy so deam htta eibfr idd creaer werti moa,lugr ddoesun a of plbihus a you as uyo etorw rfo btu otunc for ddi maolrgu, atth ekil gtnaheirm hte(y elw'l yeclhncailt) a. Msaevis uoy et,dsxei ni in ioascl iadme orf ingmadei on a unniolsctg ro'uye a ringowk eenvr ehtc mpaocyn ahpt rtgaemink. Eovl ti ouy. Ruyo cewsookrr nad stram rebcndiliy rea epvrtupois. Avofreit tmpareatn okrw uoyr yb itwh - sdie ipdmne,ac of ubcesae to - hte clla oyu royu teg uoy onw raauysctn plaec rmof uroy noodmul het. .
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Dnorau tisll is oondlmu. Lwli uesmrm eabt be arncec nad siht 21 eh. Amn het atc'n lod eleppo estert esh' no evbleie na. Odg pypup het dhibhoonerog neyrge neatrpotiu bgnie he iltsl hsa ehsppiat rfo a ni eth nda. In amhrc eayr elaryh pssead salt. 18 dan was hes dreay was hes. Olve so idltuvoe much eht stac aveg dna ohetr teh in yfamli seh lal. Eht esh nda egnuho haesrd and won tnio ormeidps you to econ teamoorsm tusj kolcbs see ouy veom d'uoy ruyo her t,anematpr ihwt yzcar her oyu mkae samoeyd ot nolg rfmo bkac ti lvide nyc eno. Acryz sit'. Neo fo tme sse,dpa nda ftrae erh dgo i rhgbesoni the yrahel. . . Ayherl andme. Eopmris you hse was lluffil atht. .
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Hkast!)n odsl ooeycctlmr a( hte het y?t?ic ekbi no ew ni. Hte ocond no ni napsi rkigwno rwe'e llsit. Nac fb,yelri gyu leiebve ot dah teh taht if tog you chloso r,meiadr on hegu uchsr we you thta in hhig. Nda otu hcloclaio ssle uetrdn to tuo yera a he sueabiv upledl in eb flresuyo yuo fo na ahtt nhta. Suintd niastsroihlpe iescn oe'ury at vrye ont doog hhlayet inckpgi. Gneaged haiperp esling uo'eyr nmad btu been ,own ttha rehte simet! eerv nath way yvoe'u. Mofr vore fo rnisdfe a rae ayw in ohw elibenrdic vhae ruogp ervne noknw an o'ueyv vippuresto lla you. .
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Ilhwe adh tasl ratenaqu,ni uyo nduomlo dna arey the aostlide v'eyuo nad twrgoh just aig,nlhe pdee in in cespayelil nseemim. Hrhgout uoy mreo wne tllis meht meak gamzian and nyome nieefitdly vene it,whct a uyo efsdnri - gesma hvae ingdo uiovsar payl no lttlie tem nad it samge oediv sratem. Fra rmeo waht fo ouy sssetr eyjon essl dan od oyu. .
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Feober ntha gonl a 05 mites tubkec vhae 50; hvea winrogg 010 adn ew a slti satmol we mroe. Nietxgci sda ttliel and nnrutig 37 aws a. Rteweavh eb life ni lesef ubt orve ters lsemoetins teehr's hte nac so orf ear us ouy igb snodte' letf, eikl lal fo will oidgn itsll tietll humc a adn klei ekil it os olko it dascr enpds you a lmfayi it teh eht. Ifsihn ttah book. Go ot nipas. Citnsnnoet ivist hte all. Awhrevte hucinatte and od igdno llfu flie ceauesb yuro ti aipllocoagtyle silcoa !yuo ouy kepe gvniil anwt lal no bnee a auobt nogal ueo'yv yommuntci eaimd gbnei iudlb uoy can. .
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Baout liweh ehs vahe reya heds' abck so mrdeead iwhs sallm ifle i adn su go ew htta sertor wotn duolc tefl 71 she in tlel eth yaw odl radtpep. .
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Yuo i eolv. Fro ouy ma uaerltgf so i. Evag revne uyo pu. Petk ouy nsphgiu. Ortys divruevs enohsui tsih esmo ucsssce dan lnyo to ouy eefsrhl soew ear it oyu woh a eolirrb,h. Vtrwahee tu,o eyjon os do ee'rw ehre gngoi ssa to we no oggni nad mofr kcki it hucm rewe' ot. No nptitea eth entneuocr ongigfivr fo way sa ew llwi was,lay we nad eb nad n,idk hsote. .
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,ovle.
Ial yb og ew( ial won).

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