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...

Ddi glegtsr,u esom i!t but sipieotrri detawn h)ecngda yuo nda ouy tgo uoy hyentevgri th(uohg. .
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Do tmaatahnn we ni elvi. To when leeva ealve oyu ouy oyru ipsoacsu broke royu dha nysun nduigr the fmro phseo hda oen rkmate aevh - ouy sklboc esauebc in ehdsarc rthea nad dusint ohlsoc the lveid ouy icyt aapttnemr eso,uggor to stol daemsr ew jstu opceul mapneartt adn agrd ttgohuh adn a hte hte a uyo. Yda ervey htkin btu lilts amlots oaubt sr,ryo yuo him 'mi od. Npokes e'tvnha uoy naaig llsti to mhi. Byba ithw a eadrmri hse' won. Tihw yuo atbou uyo rfuuet it athw in nbee ttah odrwne dlouw tlo a veah klei. Ewer epdsn htat tryhwo you eovpr imh yraes ot 01 tnigyr het to uoy tlsa. Rewe swalay ouy. Buato be joeyrnu nad gwrno yuo ovel cmbeea ot pvero eh nac hatt hwo uyo rewe, ltryu seonoem uyo on of tub duorp uttghoh imh. Wuldo eb opurd oyu os so. Updor so ouy rae. .
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A rtwie lot emro you. Yuo satrdte orkc a ewr'etn a nad but lenov poera tweir and we pytoer have l?)asway t(asmui,oib. I'ts tey tno sltli gloa but a edb,ipsulh. (eyth iekl a adme uednsdo ferib so a htat uoy did but acerre nveer oec,n lbphuis ,laogrmu lcaetl)nihcy htat a ddi for ofr msiuiosbsn wiret tgmnearih as fo e'lwl you uncto l,armugo ouy wteor. Viesmas knogriw on ngimaedi e,dteixs ilsucngont hapt for ascilo ehct ni uyo vrene ernmtigka y'roue a cnmaypo a mdeia ni. Oyu it eolv. Kreocswor rcenilibdy rmast uroy ierpopsvtu nad are. - you teh call teg - hwti cpela by oietfavr eth romf snacatyur ouy ueasceb and,imecp yuor now fo lmnodou to sdei ryou kowr ouyr nmrtetpaa. .
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Is udaron illst moldnuo. Eb eh mrusem 21 hsti wlli abet dan raencc. Lepeop teh no vbleiee he's catn' man retest na old. Het eh hestapip and fro eibgn sah ni eth ghdoinorbhoe oetiupantr a god pppyu ergeny tlisl. Assdep ni reay cmahr haelry ltsa. Eayrd asw asw hse dan 18 esh. Veag dvtloeui nad os acst humc olev in all imyalf esh het rehto teh. Uroy eht ehs cny hnogeu one otamrsemo nwo stuj meka nlgo kcoslb mvoe ese you iedlv reh emadsoy onec and ofmr with bakc daehrs noit ot ouy it aermt,tanp rcayz udoy' hre ipeomdrs ot and ouy. Czrya t'si. Fo and ogd ehisobnrg hre hylare noe i mte tefra teh ss,paed. . . Hrlaye mneda. Oyu aws flfluil she tath omrispe. .
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Biek teh ni t?iyc? oyclrcteom no we odsl hk)at!ns a( teh. Grikwon still wr'ee pains eht on in ondoc. Otg you ni ot csuhr yuo no geuh olcsoh eyl,ribf gyu hghi if dah acn hatt mdirare, ew ileebve hte atth. To reya essl uyo nedrut htat uot uot an a ni leupld fo ciclaoolh fyusroel eh eb suebaiv dan htan. Yver ta halyhet isecn npkicgi odgo suditn eour'y not sheioisptarnl. Ubt won, wya 'ryuoe nebe reev ouyev' rtehe iglnes te!sim mdna htta piphrea ngedgea tnha. Way are cblindreei upogr an rsdnife nvree owknn uyoev' all of a ouy ohw fmro in veha orev ptoieupvsr. .
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Emimnse in dna you tlsa syleilecpa ni utsj yrea peed ndlooum tgowhr dah n,ahlige eht dan aar,tenqnui ehlwi 'oyvue liaodset. Hvae aemrst tfiinldeye nodgi ittlle roem no uyo ti a omyne aemk enve iodev and lsitl gsaem adn iwth,tc sifnred hmte wne mgsea rauvosi tem hghruot aypl - ouy gmazian. Jeyon uoy dan hatw far od omre of sels stsser ouy. .
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Tkceub athn we we a febore ahev a gogwrni dan gnol oerm msotal ;05 100 haev tsil mties 05. Etiltl dan cgitiexn swa 73 sad tnrngui a. Tiellt a the gdion nspde ascdr klei misenltoes gbi h'eerst uyo anc aer eikl 'noestd a eeslf kolo be for flyaim ti ti eht cmuh esrt eht avheterw ilfe os btu so fel,t all su lstil fo it dan kiel ni lilw uoy vreo. Kboo iishnf ttha. Go ot sapni. Lla eht itvsi cseonnntti. Adime wtan uacsebe oryu lgona can igviln o'yuve efil ti gnbei oy!u and toabu alosic ahtwrvee yuo on ocmtumiyn uoy niogd goioealpllcyta lulf lla od hcnttieua neeb ilubd eekp a. .
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Rresot bouat 71 ew esh ayw heva felt i eyar ownt eamedrd dlo cabk leif so hte og su eprdpat asllm clduo hwsi etll esh in lweih ahtt and 'esdh. .
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Ovle i you. Ma for i yuo os tueflgra. Aevg uyo pu nerev. Gihsupn ekpt ouy. Wsoe owh rslehfe sith seom ynol ber,liroh cucesss ot it a oytrs dan ouy suvdeirv aer you oesnihu. Ewvthear ew nad do giogn ti yoenj ,tou kkic from ot ehre so ewer' chum ognig ssa to on eerw'. Hsteo the nad aw,ylsa we etcournen sa fo and ew no ikn,d ggvniofri liwl ayw eb teiapnt. .
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L,ove.
(ew yb )won ial lia og.

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