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...

Oghh(tu idd gget,rslu dceng)ah srtiroeiip gto dan nerhvyeigt taewnd uoy but oyu oyu osme it!. .
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Atnnmatah ievl ni we do. Eth aedrms apsioscu hescadr yoru aleev uyo anaetmtrp idungr ardg ysunn ntdius dan a ehav uoggsero, and a adh stju ni elupco aevle scaueeb eht the sepoh ocbskl ethra to ew tyic olts ratkme uoy vedil you lsohco bkore mfor royu gothuth retamaptn teh ahd nad eon ewnh oyu - yuo to. Aubto od tbu ,yrors yuo evyre tllsi mi' ayd nthik ihm oatlsm. Again to vnhat'e isltl onskpe ihm you. Nwo a byba whti sh'e erdirma. Tuerfu boaut ilek owdlu a uoy enbe itwh thaw ni ahve you htta ti tol dronew. To you that nryitg lsat ouy hte spend ot mhi ysera 10 ervop ewer wythor. Uoy lyaswa eerw. Be hmi thta wrgno uoatb he yuo can on yrltu dan oeosnem ovel yoeujnr we,re eovrp uoprd yuo ohw fo ouy thtguoh cmeeba tub to. Olduw eb puodr os so ouy. Rodup so ear ouy. .
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Tol wteri you oemr a. Ewirt as)l?ywa proae but ew neew'rt a and yrtoep a dan vlnoe you ehav krco absut,(mioi esdttar. Ubt yet 'sti nto sltil a sp,bdeuilh lgoa. You a,glrmou a toncu craere bifer fo rweto missibonsu idd taht phblusi leki aedm os tub fro uyo htat tlcanlech)yi twrei rlgmauo, ofr sa idd a yuo nevre (they llw'e uoensdd a ,cneo itanrmhge. Ponmcay in kanretgmi eandgimi a nveer ecth no in ademi a osacil ilncugonts ptha smasvei for edtexsi, 'eruoy uyo gowrink. Ti vleo yuo. Oerokwrsc yoru nad are ecyirilbnd urovisptpe masrt. Anactsyur ryuo okwr iwht etg now ot - fo yuro call yuo ouyr hte aamnptret oyu teh - yb omdnuol ofrm ftoaeriv esdi csaebue caelp cemn,idap. .
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Mdouonl is arundo tlisl. Illw 21 ceancr be sermum dan sthi he abet. Teh actn' amn esh' no evieelb retste lpopee dol an. Dan eh hsa ibgne hte yeegnr god ppaitshe eht ofr a nuttraiepo lilst in yuppp oerionhohdbg. Eray ni tsla lehyra acmhr pessad. Swa edrya esh 81 dna was hes. Voel evag mflyai het evuotild ni nda etroh so sact ehs hcum lla eht. Emvo see vdile it jstu cny ymsoade bokslc ot teh pemtatrna, 'ydou rmfo hre ot wtih ayrzc kbca econ mdrsoeip nad eon uhgnoe uyo nda oitn reammoots hes yuo maek now gnol uroy hdesar uyo reh. 'its acyrz. Reh efart irenhgbso eth i of emt dgo one ass,ped nda yhlaer. . . Rheyal medna. Atht uyo seh mespiro saw iflllfu. .
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Akhn)!st ew sodl loocctmrey in a( hte on the kbie ycit??. Onirkgw on tlsil sniap het noocd wr'ee ni. Mdr,eira cna taht high ursch no vebeeil huge uyo hda berflyi, thta het ni we hsoocl you fi ot gto guy. Neudtr a ssle eary in uot he htta be hatn fo lhlcooaci vebusia ueldpl tuo to an ouy adn esuoyrfl. Ayhelth ncsei ont r'yoeu ogdo ta ropitnshlsaei gnpiick very dntsui. Deangeg tesm!i awy nebe no,w voyu'e roeuy' ahnt namd tbu htta reeht hipraep liesgn eerv. Are puorg you ni lal eou'yv vspouirtpe vreo edcierbnli nnkow wya hwo morf a an fo aevh erevn sndfeir. .
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Rtqen,nuaai mesinme ldmnuoo the salt adn eedp uyo ni in nad had alypsleiec jtus agnhlei, hewli otwrgh oey'uv dlosaeti yare. Amges tlsil mangzai gmase wne tlleit dan ieeltnfdyi a on pyal uoy eakm it heav ehtm iaurovs gndoi remo mte yuo seratm fidrsen neve dan thoguhr nomye tt,whic - doive. Ouy of rfa do tersss less htwa ermo enyoj oyu adn. .
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Ketcbu 001 ew we igrognw 50; ahtn ltsi heav smltoa hvae stiem dna febreo a rmoe a nlog 50. A etltil sda 37 was txnecgii dan iruntng. Eht uhmc ielk ,etlf tlleti ielk ekil ltlsi so yuo it btu ti the t'reseh rascd soedn't iogdn ifel nad lmfyia be lal kool eht ni senimteols rea so of a cna a ti elesf over thvreewa rof nedps ibg su ouy erts lwli. Htat ookb ifhisn. Og ot ainps. Lal het tnntceiosn isivt. Abescue !ouy nogal veyuo' you itummocyn a cna igvnli dna saicol it outab htaewvre etuhictna efil bidul iaemd gnido yruo peke aleoocaltpliyg nawt begni on lal llfu ouy od nebe. .
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Us way os ihsw ryea akbc sdh'e eifl osterr iewhl luodc i we prdapte ddmeaer teh vahe baout lod 71 letf adn htta lasml ltle in seh she og onwt. .
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Ouy i vleo. So for ma i uetfagrl uyo. Oyu enver up evag. Tkep sihngpu yuo. Woh rtsyo to it oyu svdiuevr woes onyl rea seom stih a selherf cesscsu yuo insehuo ,ieorlbhr nda. Do adn aerethwv ikkc ree'w to ,uto ew ereh so uhcm wr'ee ofmr ti yjone sas to ggion no oiggn. Adn no lwil ywa we dna nfigivogr kidn, as,aywl ew eniatpt be hsote sa fo teh rutnoeenc. .
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Vloe,.
Og yb ila ew( ail )won.

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