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...

Uhg(oth uyo tbu adn you esom tog trrpsiioei grgltues, cda)hegn ddi i!t yuo atnwde vryteengih. .
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Hnaaatmnt in lvei od ew. A dvlie when nad peuloc adh hte had you you the phseo and yunsn tciy esmrad uory one ot bcolks ni duirng evale idnsut the het hrscade htuohtg aelev uspaiosc mrof avhe usjt nda drag ntpraamte olts olscoh ouyr ot traeh a - etntarmpa you temkra aebuesc sroogu,eg ew ouy krebo yuo. Nktih mtaols evyre ouy hmi i'm do iltls btu batuo ayd roys,r. Avteh'n oyu hmi to ainga tsill ksopen. 'hes diearrm ihtw a bayb won. Leki tbaou louwd a ti ni fturue nebe taht ouy awth wdnero tlo ithw evha yuo. Mhi ltsa htryow ot weer 01 eorvp ersya to uyo ntigry depsn atth yuo het. Ouy lyaaws erew. Ihm lyrtu ouy nad dupor leov ttah of oyu ouy eb eh acn thuohgt omnesoe btu no nuoeyjr nowgr vrpeo bauto ot woh e,ewr caebem. Upodr uyo be os dlowu os. Era dupor so you. .
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Ierwt orem yuo a otl. And saya?lw) kcro oyu rattsde ew utb eovnl ierwt a ern'twe ahev dna (a,bsmoitui aeorp a peryot. Oagl s'ti tlisl yet but tno a is,edpulhb. Vreen so thta c,noe a yuo rhmtgenai pblsuhi yuo of lan)htycecil a eirwt a,olrmgu idd but orf htat beifr nsbiuosims like fro a oetwr adem wl'el nucot uoy ,uormlag (ethy ercare uonsdde sa idd. Vissmea miingade in ni oyu cteh ngcuiostln mieda kgrinow mnitgkaer a ahpt salcoi e'ruoy vnree a ,edtxesi pamcoyn no rof. Ovle uoy it. Rtsma era uroy liibndecry and eptruospvi serorcwko. Yuro oyu - tge oafrtvie by teh own ouyr owrk aelpc het epdnm,iac oyur side whit uoy ot romf allc fo aptremnat douonml scurtanya - cbeaeus. .
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Olmudon si siltl unador. Esmmru lliw raccen eb dan itsh eh abet 12. S'eh an het old on eplope tanc' mna ebvliee esttre. Hte rof dgo beign hsa ehhigonboodr tlsli aipeptsh puypp topntaruie he a the ni egeyrn nda. In ryea hramc eyalrh dasspe tlas. Dreay 18 aws hse was hse and. Tcas egav the hte hse os mhuc dan oreth lal ni iuoedvtl yfiaml oevl. Dna ap,attnmre do'yu ryou itno ouy ouy mtsmoaoer edsymoa reh rhe ncy see it onw vmeo harsde she emka eth to egnhuo sjtu oen econ dleiv clksbo lngo kcba deiorsmp mfro hwti ot dan ouy raycz. Zcary t'si. Teh tme rayelh of spaeds, nda odg one i areft hsnriobeg hre. . . Eandm hyearl. Isproem fullifl yuo esh wsa atht. .
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The (a ct?yi? ew kieb on in the dlos nsahk)t! ocmecyltor. Eht on kgrnwio ni eerw' sltil codno apisn. Nac tog hda if cuhrs hatt ygu mrieda,r in ugeh you oyu to tath we yb,lierf belieev ghhi hte on ocolhs. Oyu and aery eb ni eusiavb fo delplu tahn out to htta nedurt an rfsloyeu eh a hooaliclc sels otu. Otn arielhsotnspi ta dnuits telyhah seinc r'yueo doog ikpgnic evry. Tnah o,nw ever 'oyuve gengade ebne btu prapihe rue'yo reeht dman teis!m htat lnseig awy. Of rnsiefd upgor lla uyvoe' fmor an iniecblred nrvee ni kownn a ear yuo reov ywa how soprutivpe ehva. .
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Sadtioel dna ,qutienrnaa aien,lgh ni you adn adh mdnlouo in lsat towrhg tujs ciesypaell ryea epde mmseeni the uoe'yv iwelh. Infetlidye gnoid ti elitlt osvariu no amrtse enve eynom eahv lpay iltls uyo a orgthhu eifrsdn wne vdioe ekam ouy ermo esgam nda - tc,ithw nad htme etm agmse ingazma. Srsest emor fo uoy nda do lses ouy afr what oyjen. .
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Nogl nhta 0;5 nad ew hvea orme 50 ew frobee a ltis kucebt olamst gwinorg ehva stmie a 010. 37 ads cxiignte swa adn teltil a untrign. Nac csadr aer it it os su of vrewhaet oyu iekl illtet lla terhes' dgoni kool uyo ni mhcu a ef,lt meosslinte fyialm ervo eb life tseodn' tslil ekil lliw dna trse slfee a eth tbu it enpsd hte eht os gib for klie. Boko hsfnii taht. Go ot pansi. All sitiv the tenointcns. Aevtwerh and oignd oy!u lful elatlliyogpcao it eilf eekp aesubce tauenitch royu nloga uoye'v ebgin od emiad neeb ocntuymim lla uoy lgviin a uldib uoy nac btuoa caisol antw on. .
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Alslm wtno i ew yaw so hes ftle ahev old addreme eary teh us lhiwe abkc 71 ni dna fiel hatt de'hs go eltl rtores lucdo tpapdre uobat seh hswi. .
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Uyo elvo i. You i os frtulega for am. Renev pu geav uoy. Phngsiu petk you. Sesccsu rae to yoln rstoy erhslef osem and a uoy svduiver it weos lrobheir, isht hieouns hwo you. Hrteweav we ew'er nda kkic rhee no mhcu so od erwe' nojey ssa ot frmo t,uo ti ot gongi oiggn. We be way we hte ettinap s,ylaaw vioigrngf of will no renunotec adn as nid,k dan thoes. .
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,levo.
W(e ali go yb lia )onw.

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