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...

Roiiitrsep uhgtho( necdga)h tbu gl,tgrseu oyu nyiehrtveg emso uyo ddi you i!t datwne adn got. .
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Atthaannm live ew do ni. Mrfo avhe - uyo csoloh slto a sgugoer,o lidve teh you irdugn etahr bkore noe ew mrtntaaep shpeo nuyns usjt cuspaois ni uoy temkra eht to tuinsd eucolp ouyr sedram crsehad hte wnhe ahd ot enpatmatr aveel het outthhg you ragd a adn ctyi nad ahd and vleae oyu bsaceeu bklsoc oruy. Astmlo ayd od yvere orrs,y ouy nhtki btoau 'im ihm btu sltli. Ot ingaa ltisl oyu ihm have'tn nkospe. Eh's eridrma wno bbay hitw a. Futreu a aevh ti ilke bnee uyo awth tuboa tol tath iwth ouwld onewrd in you. Eth ttah rpveo to 10 tsla ytrhow uyo to imh were ritgyn dneps asyer uyo. Ouy erwe awlasy. But ,rwee oevl noeuyrj oyu gworn ouy ytlur tghuhto htta adn enomsoe mhi nca who of cemabe ot eh ruodp ervpo eb on tuoab uyo. Uyo ulwod so os eb orpud. Os ouy orpdu aer. .
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Meor lto you a rtiew. Nwte'er ew tdstaer oyu crko adn adn a eopra eavh alyasw)? oveln tbu pryeot a mosiiatu(b, iwetr. A tills t'si oagl tey ubt nto ehs,dbpiul. Sa a amde htat a rof cntlleiyach) rog,almu idd earcre marlg,uo so ewl'l bmisunossi ofr did but ctuno kile neerv ibfre etwri you uyo eodunds oterw hatt uoy ce,on ihtgmnrea a ihsbulp t(yeh of. Cthe myanopc iets,xed a oyu isaclo hatp gaindeim fro ivmssea oingusclnt ni ikornwg a vneer on 'euryo in aiemd riketgamn. Loev ti oyu. Msatr crkswrooe rae adn ruyo icbiyldren prtvpusoie. You of sdie krwo llac now paretmtan whti rouy elacp - hte etg eebacus ryou oyu yb canempd,i lmdooun - taifveor sryatnauc het ot morf uyor. .
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Nodrua slilt odlonum is. Liwl uresmm rcncae be nad eh 21 tsih eabt. S'eh an'ct an rtstee mna teh dlo on eplpoe iveelbe. Teh ihdonborgeho ogd ofr teh eoratpiunt ahs bgnei isthppae illts ni ppuyp a eh dan ereygn. Aelyrh in sdspae hrmac ayre last. 81 ehs and rdeay seh aws was. Uhmc asct ni aevg so loideuvt hse ehotr veol eht aymfli lal hte and. Ncoe utjs uyo ees her dna amek ckba headrs own uoy yruo nrat,metpa y'duo goln kclsob hes eon doemays dan ouy it eth ihtw tnoi to mofr reh sdirepom ngueho zcrya rmmosaoet ncy mevo vield ot. Rczya s'ti. Inrhgesob ahyrle etm and faert fo ,dsepas i rhe ogd one het. . . Damen leyhar. Lfuflil spoerim seh oyu htat asw. .
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Mlccreyoot (a het tnhsa!)k ?yit?c on ew teh in ikeb olsd. Gkrinwo coodn ni hte no ere'w sitll niasp. No ogt in ew leebvie ahd r,aredmi hcoslo ttha ihhg fi rsuhc cna ttah bf,ieyrl ot uehg het you gyu uyo. Otu essl dan rntedu in yuorlesf be tnha na pldlue veaubis of you eh yrea oilcaohlc that a to otu. Yehtalh eryv pgkiinc idtuns at snplorisahtie dgoo isecn ton yeou'r. Tnah ayw oreu'y btu yoveu' !isemt aeggend rehte atth nbee o,wn anmd vree ipeparh inlsge. Are fo na urogp hwo repvusitpo lal a mrof ouy rove in eelibidnrc knnwo sfdiern ayw vyu'eo veah nveer. .
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Hewli rghwto ahd ni eeplayclis dan ienmmse oalsidte and uyo vyo'eu tlas in doumnol yrae ga,inehl depe the sujt etai,ruanqn. Ittell no - lilts ognid ylpa nfrseid sgema amnzgia sameg yuo mnoey a etm tnleyfeidi nvee tmeh ouhrght aevh yuo ivdeo dna vaiorsu meka ertmas roem enw and w,tithc it. Fo lsse mreo nad do eonjy rfa hwat srsets you yuo. .
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A avhe a smtlao mero avhe we becktu tahn imets 100 50 sitl eboerf ;50 nogl ew adn wignrog. Sad trnignu titlel a nda aws 37 tinexigc. Pdnes su os in rets tenselsmio lslit sadrc wlil lesfe vroe eno'dts ekil be humc os lf,et ifel ti you a ti ilek teh tiltel a hte teh dogin lla aiflmy and fo keil era ravheewt eset'rh acn olko bgi tub ofr oyu ti. Ahtt ifsnih obok. Go nspia ot. Oseninnctt eth lal siitv. Vyeou' eimda pkee ocilas dnoig taleipcaoyllgo a lfei ilbdu revthwae nad uryo ulfl u!oy iegnb no ouy itumnmcoy btauo niglvi etntauich all do aognl ntaw uoy suaebce ti nca eebn. .
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Cbka i amlls file notw eahv og us in eht 71 dlo eedardm shwi ahtt sh'de tabuo so rrseto uclod seh fetl adn lwhie hes raey ew eltl wya edatrpp. .
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Love i yuo. Ma rfo ltraeufg oyu os i. Up eavg neevr you. Uyo igpunhs pket. Ynol ehosiun sescusc elsefhr a ysort ot emso eows nad e,rhlrboi ouy era ti siht oyu who evuidvsr. Noggi ew adn no gnogi od ssa vhaewtre ormf ot w'eer chum ot rehe ti t,ou joyen e'erw kcik so. Tseho kdi,n lwli eb ew we of tercueonn vggnrfiio ipnetat aywasl, adn on ywa nda sa teh. .
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L,oev.
Ial we( lai )nwo go by.

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