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...

(otuhhg teinhvyreg soem ouy ti! sg,rtegul otg wtaden oritipsire ddi you )angdche ouy dan but. .
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Ew mhatnanat eivl ni od. - ouy aerth ryou dan nda ot vahe hda and ew het ycti lavee a vdlie ntpatarme uroy hesadrc hhtguto sclkbo gunrid mrfo ruoog,esg atkmre one sudtin rokbe evlea grad utsj ni remdsa the asuiocps seuaecb uoy lpoecu mtntpreaa when het to tslo a hooslc spohe you unsny uoy eht ahd uoy. Yuo do tkihn day oryr,s msoatl yever hmi 'mi ouabt tub tlisl. Ihm npkose angia uoy 'hvetan to istll. Hitw rdeamri bbay a onw e'sh. You in oyu ttah tol it a ahve otuba leik furtue ouldw ithw nwodre htaw ebne. Sraey pervo tath orthyw lsat weer ouy epsdn to 01 yuo to him het trigny. Yalswa you rwee. Turly tub you orvep ohgtthu pourd oomeens oeujnyr be mih oelv beemac can taht on uoy uyo tbaou owh adn fo to ,rewe owngr eh. Uorpd dluwo yuo os be so. Odpru so oyu are. .
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Oyu iwetr lto remo a. Lwy?)asa ew peroa dretats ytroep a tub b(,isaimuot vloen vahe a dna ne'trwe adn ckro oyu etrwi. Litsl a luip,bdhes lago tye but tno tis'. A htat isbplhu you ekil )yeliacthncl os ttah omglra,u yuo rof itewr a rbief idd rceera ernev sbnmisusoi rfo el'wl a moagr,ul he(ty fo rtwoe ubt tanhegrmi c,neo uontc did dendosu aedm as yuo. Asemsvi asiolc nveer htce tahp mdiianeg gwirnok ynacomp 'ryoue on tisee,dx rfo in mdaei ni ouy a a gtrkimane nnosgictlu. It vleo ouy. Ocsrorkwe tmasr adn ndibrecily resiopvupt uyro rae. Oitfarev own - ouy dsie uryo yasrtancu of lacl gte het to uomnold uroy trampaetn krwo hiwt yuo teh - aplec cdieanpm, esuecab yrou yb rmof. .
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Rdnuao is still noudmlo. Tsih eb eh mmseur ebat eaccrn and 12 ilwl. On dlo the rteest leeopp nam e'sh eebvlie tna'c an. Sitll gdo a odhebooghirn has eynegr rof nad he teh gbine het pasihpte upypp oneiatrtpu in. Chamr ni aedpss eray alts rlhyae. Hse aws dna 81 swa she adery. Hmcu eht esh in tohre asct evlo flimya lal os ouivdlte the nad avge. Adn neough dyou' royu noe aoysmed yuo it ispmdore coen ustj morf saormtmoe nyc ehs ate,mpnatr hre kbac and edilv erh rayzc ot wno htwi ovem ot make yuo ese bklcos ogln eth haersd noit ouy. Cayrz 'ist. I faret sdes,pa noe ehr of bgnrihseo met ylareh odg het adn. . . Aeyhrl aemnd. Seh saw erismpo tath oyu llilfuf. .
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Beki no ni s)!hnkta lomtrceyoc a( ew olds eht ic?y?t eth. Eht ni 'wree spani on wrgnkoi lsitl ncdoo. Ahtt ,adrimer atht hlsooc you hhig no ew to rcuhs ugy cna otg fi lyfri,be ni hte ehug beeliev adh ouy. A ahnt ni eb ouy out of he lludep htat uot ot less adn na veisbua oichcllao enturd fuyrosel eray. Kncpgii ueyor' aelhhty doog tno nlspheatiisor at encis reyv sdniut. Nebe ubt uoey'v now, dnma 'euory praphei ayw hatt ligsen mtsei! eerv dnageeg eterh thna. Evren lla owknn in eyuv'o nseirdf an awy ohw omfr stpiepovru gopru eorv uyo heva rea a iieblcnedr fo. .
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Had hgwotr dna llescepayi dna tusj tals in pdee iwleh tlsdeaoi 'ueovy ig,alhne naia,nreuqt ayer numolod ni uoy msenmei teh. ,withct emnoy elttil enltdeiyfi emor emgsa emt meht ti esrmat maiganz maek a asmeg - payl uyo vene doeiv othghur fiensrd and usrvoia wne evah ginod uyo on stlli dna. Hwat sels emro rfa adn uoy uyo do of eyjno srsste. .
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0;5 50 vaeh we naht haev eorfbe dan islt wigogrn mroe aomlst temis we a 100 lnog a bektuc. Sad cnxeiitg a and tletil 37 tnugnri was. Elefs of tenod's ibg it oyu anc lkie ti lla the in rdcas tmnieseols oolk uhmc a eb it atwrehev slilt so ofr lietlt etfl, rove hte wlli ndgoi so het yuo leki ubt us rea nepds dan klei er'seht mflyai a tesr ilef. Atth koob siinfh. Pnias go to. Lla etnnocstni teh ivtis. No lnago a ti !uoy beucase yuo anwt eepk oatub digno cna aclios hweavert tcnyomimu elfi dan euniahtct yruo maedi iivlng vo'euy od toipyclgoelala llfu lal neeb oyu geinb lbuid. .
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Retosr flet old i dcuol ltel liewh ew aubto siwh almsl ehs tonw sed'h go os yaw 71 veah ppadtre ackb dna efil that ni us ryea ramedde the she. .
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I uoy oelv. Os i fro lgetfaur am you. Vgea up nrvee uoy. Yuo etpk nsgipuh. Iths yuo esow a are ssescuc ot esehrlf oneshiu esmo tryso ouy ti loyn adn ,oiebrrlh how uvsrvedi. To,u dna reeh rwatveeh on ckik ee'wr uhcm nogig fmro ew'er ot so nogig it we ssa to oyjen od. Nrtncoeue tinatpe dan wya fvoignirg teh eb we of ,dnik a,ysawl liwl eoths no dna as we. .
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Lv,eo.
Wo)n lai go yb e(w ail.

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