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...

Esom ac)ndegh hugt(oh !ti ddi utb deatnw adn uyo lr,ugsget uyo prrsiiiote you htineygevr otg. .
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Evli nhanatamt do ni ew. Uyo a nnsyu tarhe ematptrna ew eth you dan poehs cooslh teh evldi nudirg eth rofm lveae ragd ytci hardces nad tneataprm aeeusbc eelva a ebork dan lpueco you usidtn uyor paisuocs one coskbl - to mterak s,uogrego het slot hhugtto oyu nehw royu to mseadr ni dah stju uyo ehva hda. Smatlo srory, 'im utb day tknih evyer mih tobua ouy litls do. Imh you nh'vaet to ingaa ilstl okpnes. Ithw h'se a abyb won meradir. Euurtf uyo thaw haev ihtw elik atht woldu ubota eebn it ni nwerod a tlo oyu. Tath tyrnig uoy to pevor yhwrot erew atls teh 01 eysra pnsde to him uyo. Ouy erew yaaslw. You eovpr of and acn cemeba yrojnue rutyl uordp who ot ovle gonrw tbu no rwe,e ohtthug imh you outab htat yuo eh be nmeeoso. Be os so uyo dopru ldwou. Druop rae uyo os. .
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Uyo olt mreo a rtwie. Eetrn'w arpoe s?)wyaal iiotsabu(,m nad but adn rytepo you a eahv tadetsr crok ovnel wrtei a we. Its' ubt yet l,suhebidp lgao ilslt otn a. N,eco kiel did rveen os a aeercr brfei ofr rla,mgou ahtt a ddi umnisisbos a you ofr tunco but seduodn ouy neyicl)hctla mdae huibslp rihtgmnae guroml,a (ehyt you fo etriw e'wll ttah rtwoe as. T,deesix svmeias ecth wrinkog aidme for kgirmetna omnapcy uoy're rvnee yuo a edmigina htap ningolctsu in a solcia ni no. Olve you it. Wrcorsoek amrts tepvpusroi adn royu ercbnilydi rae. Atacnsyru gte - saecbeu yruo ot whti clal het by yrou d,pnaicem ouy ooudmnl fmro oevitrfa rouy erattnmap krow oyu eth dsei now of cpeal -. .
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Domulno rdouan lilst si. Rmemsu adn lilw be he narcce 12 sith eabt. N'cat bleivee se'h dlo no an nma eeoplp eth etrets. Regeyn iehpstap pyppu odg igben eh tlils oihbhoredogn nad for ttnoirapeu a the sah in het. Lsat yelahr ni yera chrma psased. Swa 81 esh erady dna esh asw. Chum ni fmlaiy adn loteidvu gave ertoh so hte she the lal voel ctsa. Ot sjtu ieldv nda moatmesor nad rpdmeois ghoenu nwo y'oud rhe het neo glon edoasym aatmnerp,t ncy bkca uoyr cone amke uyo obsclk yarcz ti otni voem ithw yuo hes uoy reh ot morf ese rhades. S'it razyc. Ehr of i met het trafe nda odg neo rylahe sasd,ep biroseghn. . . Aedmn leahry. Lilluff thta she wsa ouy ismepor. .
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In eht ??itcy keib sold we nthka)!s teh no moertlcyoc (a. Rew'e cdono no lilts gknwroi ansip teh in. Tog acn htat yuo ,yreiblf ighh fi atht gyu uoy we chsur no ot veeelbi the ohcosl hegu ni re,idrma hda. Uoyfelrs eh of out in that adn urnedt tnah to edpull eb claochiol tou ryae biaeuvs ouy an a sels. Isndtu ont revy inpigkc 'reyuo ogod rtopislhisnea at encis hhlatey. Ielsgn btu gaedeng that ever etrhe ntah eur'yo yaw iparhpe ,onw !sietm 'eouvy amdn eben. Veern over owh fo ebiindclre an upogr era a mrof wkonn veah ouy euy'vo tpresvupio in all erdnifs wya. .
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The ni atsl h,eglain sdtoieal sniemme y'oevu lehwi you munolod llyiasceep deep tujs tgwhor dah in naqtreniu,a dna eary dan. Hrhtogu smgea aehv ti emyno erfidns lypa dan emasg ewn sivaour rsmeta nazagim emth eakm - nda no wihtc,t fedlinteiy ltlsi ouy ttiell ouy nvee etm video nogdi omer a. Ouy of twha ermo less arf yuo jnoey and ssters do. .
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A a ermo ew rofeeb istl anht 50 eitsm aveh gonl astmol ggowirn ;50 buctke ew veha dan 100. Gxncteii a ieltlt dsa adn swa tgnriun 73. Ehre'ts 'enostd lilts teh a nda are scadr uoy goidn leki kolo ti rste lal eht eslfe psned it nca almfyi os fo ,ftle orf so eikl be eawvreht uoy iefl btu liwl ni etsmnlsoei erov umch gbi the kiel su ti iltlet a. Koob fishni ttha. Psina to og. Lal visit the ncsnitonet. Tmocuimyn you ubtoa ognla idgno atyalielpgocol od yo!u all slacoi acebeus ldbui deami ifle it vnilgi y'oveu ulfl yuo nebe pkee yruo acn on uhintceat a nda wtna ingbe evhrawte. .
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Hvea back onwt ehd's yaer 71 i os paetprd og ddearem lucdo flet ttah eth boatu in nad ew etll hes efil lslma ihws ilehw ayw rersto hes odl us. .
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Ouy evol i. Am rfo os oyu i falgerut. You up aveg nveer. Uyo epkt phiguns. Otyrs yuo unhsoei woes ouy to how lsheref ti a le,rhrboi siht lnoy esom ear cuecsss dna druvivse. Dan no mcuh ot kcki hevraetw we sas ognig os 'wree ofmr ,tou goign oneyj to od eerh e'erw it. Awy ngforiigv we eb the tseoh and wlil nidk, nda ecoutnrne ew yalaws, on as etnpiat fo. .
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Elov,.
Ail ew( nwo) ail by go.

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