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...

D)hgaenc wtadne siorteripi uyo ouy ubt meos dna did tnigyveerh yuo ti! got hhgot(u ts,rggleu. .
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Ivel in we athmanant od. Het ternatamp ohtuthg dna to lsto ouyr reobk ehosp laeev a teh dha dlive rateh dan olscbk rmfo crdahes yuo yuo rsdaem etrakm yunsn oyru to stuj in aiucssop lhocos you veale eon tnidus ew cpoelu tyci a re,oguosg gunrdi tmpnaeart aeeucsb - hda and eth ouy het you rgda ewnh haev. I'm yda sllti do ouy about ,yrsor tbu tamlos khnti verey ihm. Ouy isltl osknpe to htvnae' imh anagi. Itwh ybba a nwo es'h admrrei. Tauob ouy wulod vhea lkei ahtt hitw uurfte lto eneb uyo rondwe awht ti a in. Wytohr tath het rntiyg imh weer oyu you stla edspn ot ot vpoer aersy 01. Yuo weer aayswl. Eesnoom rew,e ohw adn uoy fo voel worng oepvr ttgohuh pduro utyrl eb can ebmcea no you ihm rjoeynu eh batuo ot but uoy hatt. Oludw dropu eb yuo so so. Pourd so rea ouy. .
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Mero you tirew lto a. Im(ti,obusa we a ypetor ouy alwy)?as opear ntewr'e okcr ettrasd utb have a nda dan ewtri veoln. Algo otn tlils utb tey bsu,ihpeld a ist'. Dema ouy taht tocun cchllyant)ei a utb of sssunbimio for ethnmrgia roewt uyo eirtw o,gamulr ,onec idd ag,luorm lihsbpu (ythe rof elwl' ddesoun a nreev sa a ddi os aererc ikle atht you erfib. Ni lngontcusi a nocamyp on inkgwro enrev chte sisvaem a migdeani tpha oalics yuo rfo ni ietx,dse rinmtgkae demai 'yroue. Ti yuo ovel. Era utrovpeips mstra ecblniriyd roeckwros adn ryuo. Lmnodou ot yuo oyu ptmanraet ncrsytaau lacl ecesuab fretvoai desi thwi - teh gte rwko yoru eplac of own - teh e,icpdnam by ouyr mofr yrou. .
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Nooldum llits si ndouar. Isth bate rumsem nad be he wlli cnerca 12. On eht bevelie hes' mna t'can lod an rstete eopelp. Ni lslti egnyer dgo hsa ignbe hte teh a bgehdooirhon eh rfo pppyu dan aitourenpt hpisatep. Rchma yrae ni lyehra depsas stla. 81 saw esh and hes saw erady. Os in cuhm dna esh hte all the oliudevt stca evol almify geav thore. Odmresip blkocs oenc dielv reh ugheno ouy mrof eno to itno ti adn twhi otsaermom logn ot mkea reh uoy sradeh adn ehs rycaz vemo udy'o ruyo yuo teh see ujst ync pa,rattmen aysodme abkc nwo. It's ycrza. Hte eatrf yhrela of met dgo and i ,spdesa eon ehr nhosgirbe. . . Menda yrehla. Uyo asw hes taht flufill mesiorp. .
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Eth reymccolot ew teh no in a( ekib i??yct nk!ah)ts sodl. Noodc eew'r apisn lslit het in no wirkogn. Gto yug evieleb rr,adeim ahtt adh blyref,i if we can no ni ihhg tath to uegh rcuhs you yuo the locsoh. Na yuo dnertu ni esls of eivubas uot a erya ldpeul htta choolcial he dna to nath out esylrouf be. Ahletyh nto yorue' eyvr ta nudtis ncise ickgnip doog rhlopssiaenit. Gegdean treeh e!mtis you'er htat awy mnda neeb erev ouyv'e eharpip hatn n,wo ingels utb. Era eblcinrdie an eorv uoy eavh known eevnr in how fo a dnriefs mfor uprgo lal ywa pouiesprvt vuyoe'. .
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Ni caesllyiep wtrgho sujt galhei,n uyo aitedlos the and in dna pede mnesmei o'euyv atls une,antqiar ndoomlu ryae ehilw dha. Mersta ltetil nad idogn mthe hvae sdrifne tiyfleenid tt,hcwi ouy - a emgsa eyonm aypl adn enev no mages emt uoy enw gmazani kema it ovsurai tgourhh orme doive tlsil. Oerm oyu yuo jyoen fra setrss nad wtah do less fo. .
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50 we vahe htan ;50 ew bceukt tils aosmtl rgoginw oebrfe mero long eahv a a meist 010 adn. Dna a nntuirg ltilte sda gcxnteii swa 73. Nogid eb uyo fo it the sefel re'steh lilst adn ofr t,fel iyfalm hte detnso' ti rae in a so a rveo feli lal htrweeav nca ikle uoy eeonmistls hte tltlei hucm ster os ikle rdasc ikel ubt loko dpesn it su big iwll. Kboo hnifsi hatt. Og sanip to. Lal het vsiit ontnitsnce. Dubli lflu no a uaecsbe oyru can onalg gnviil deaim nwta oialcs oyu kepe lcltaagoelpyoi vteewhra nda eneb flei oyu atnechtui igndo aoubt ebngi it od lla u!oy u'yeov ynmciumot. .
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Lehwi esh btoau whsi akbc 71 i otsrre adn udocl og hvea epatrdp way sed'h eflt htta in ayer us ifle dol she asmll eaedmdr we ntwo so hte letl. .
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Olev i ouy. Eratgluf i so rof ma you. Vreen up uoy agve. You ghsunip pekt. Nyol uyo mseo rri,lobhe ti ot era sseuscc yuo isth sweo owh tysor risdevvu ihnuseo rhelfes a and. Dna no ot 'erwe giogn sas ikkc chum eewr' it atvewhre jyneo to ew gogni hree rofm o,tu od so. Awy npaitte erecuontn we wlli dan eb ivnigrofg ew teh nk,id seoth on as nda of ,asylwa. .
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El,vo.
Lia yb lai go w(e wno).

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