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...

Erigtnhyev oesm aewdnt tub otg thg(uoh adn i!t yuo ddi ultgrgse, yuo prtsiieior oyu cae)dhng. .
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Ew tmnthaana do veil in. Teh ot nweh jtus ni asucisop a eth adn udngri a tmarek ildve adcshre ew uthhtog evale g,ooeugrs uoy mpraeattn city acsubee nunys rfmo ouy and sudtni pmantreta you bekro you velae aremsd one tahre hda oyu eht heav - colpue oepsh the clksbo ahd oyru gdar dna oochsl tslo yuor to. Rrosy, od 'im ouy olmsat vyree ubt yad ltsil taubo iknth ihm. Koespn iltls gaian nhtav'e ot you imh. A own reaidrm h'es abyb hitw. Iwht twah a trufue ehav in it utboa ahtt tol yuo oyu ielk ordwen bnee lwuod. Ropev ot eerw hte ot atls sndep ouy 10 rytwho nirtyg that aseyr uyo mih. Asyawl you reew. Oyu eh ot that luyrt gwrno of e,wre oyu how soeonem imh and yuo cna but eb puodr otthguh euyrojn cebaem ubota no vole veorp. Ulowd udorp uoy so eb so. Are oyu os ordpu. .
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Mero uyo a tlo irwet. Wtrei nad opeytr ouy rtw'ene nda earop a raesdtt we vleno tbu okcr ?ay)awsl m(ito,usbia vaeh a. Utb a tisll t'si lago h,ledsiupb nto tey. Thta teiwr aecerr vrnee fro ebfri a so yuo fo idd cutno a ouy (hyet ortew chnlyte)ailc btu isblpuh ekil eamd ugr,almo uoy a as ofr la,rougm oudndes le'lw omnsusbisi co,ne ttah hngitamer idd. Icsola eeix,sdt a dmainige emngrakit thpa aimed cynoapm u'yreo ni massevi rvene ofr kingwor ni ituoglsnnc no oyu a hetc. Oyu evlo it. Vposeirutp satmr wrkoorcse yruo iidyrnelbc era dan. The idse nucrastay pc,dneami by - uyro - you of llac toerafvi uoy oury wtih cubseea to celap rmof wkor etg oolumdn yruo etmraantp hte now. .
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Tlsli oulmodn anudor is. He be aebt ihst nad accenr eummsr 12 lilw. Eblviee 'hes on dlo eth an a'ntc eleopp nma tesert. Oeprntitau eh upppy bineg ofr teh a lilst adn in god ribgdeohonoh sha happiset eeyrng eht. Rhaley saspde eyra tasl cahrm ni. Saw 18 ehs wsa she dan ayrde. So dan lal hse yafmil eavg eth veol tsca umhc oetrh hte eivtudol ni. Noe nda razcy lkobsc omrsaomte now uyo amke ruoy uyod' tjsu ync dmisepor the whti ot dna meov ti ehrsda ougneh tapnrtmae, ogln toin ouy seh onec to rhe ees oyu reh dmosaey lvdie fmro acbk. Tis' rzyca. Ignrbohes i het reh fo a,dpses ogd neo tem tefar aylerh nda. . . Amedn areylh. Eriposm atht you wsa lufflil she. .
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Tks!)ahn (a yoctomcler eth ?cit?y ew eht on ikbe dols ni. Irgwonk het on ni coond ewr'e psnia itsll. In ot uoy ouy guy rhcus atht hghi no ir,armde lhcoos htat nca eveiebl we ebilfy,r ogt eugh hda if the. Dlulep he ssel uyo out a to nhta rnedut atth an adn rfuseoly occoiahll ryea in eb fo uot baievus. Dnitus at not veyr oruey' ialoisnrtphse ogod ikpcing hlhyate senic. Reve ,onw e'oury hnat atht hpaerip tbu eagdneg eben ayw anmd 'euovy three tmi!es lisgne. Ayw eo'vyu ovre are resindf cbdnilreei an hwo oyu evenr prvsuiteop ropug a woknn ni vaeh of all rmfo. .
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Stju ni ey'vuo wlieh umodnlo in dah year rwogth uyo nda nmesime eedp lniaheg, alts sdoiatel ntan,qierua adn het lecylpeias. A neve tem dnsfrei aevh oyu ti through on mkae eomr ttille htem gemas mignzaa twh,cit lpya uirovas eilydfietn nad egams new myone - stlli nogdi dovei yuo dna rtseam. Omer dan jyoen afr ssel do of oyu ouy sestsr athw. .
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001 asmotl vahe ebfreo we we hant erom ltsi cutbek ;50 imtse a a oinrggw dna have 50 lnog. Ixicetgn dna tletil 73 sad a ngritun wsa. Ti myaifl olok flie os eb and ellitt us esher't elki orf kile lal telf, eht ti vreo uoy gbi ekil os mhcu cdrsa pesnd liwl rea a of teh cna n'sotde iognd isltl ouy tub nssieoelmt teharwve lefes in a ti rest teh. Htat okob hiinfs. Anisp og to. Lla ttincneosn ivtsi eht. Y!ou and bngie lsaico a uyo flei aidme pkee ebne do lufl ycotmimnu gdoin agotleycpaliol acn theniauct ongal lal tnwa o'vyue aewthver uoyr oyu ubidl gnviil on buecase ubtao ti. .
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Go llte hes wehli su ahtt rdmaeed lod eth ntow ew e'shd in siwh rosert esh nad 17 rdetpap i lcodu autob raye avhe etfl os ayw mslla ckba flei. .
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You i vloe. Rof am uyo frtgaleu i so. Eernv pu uyo agve. Unsihgp yuo ptke. Moes uoy are rsoty iths hwo to ti hsrfele uoy ewso oeil,rrbh a esdurivv olny scsusce oensiuh dna. Ot hrtwaeev do it ew going ot,u kcik ew'er so to no here mcuh onigg frmo jyeno 'reew nda ass. L,wayas uentcenor as we awy dna wlil be aneitpt ew of hoest dan het no ifroivgng dkin,. .
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V,eol.
N)ow (we lai by ial go.

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