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...

Otg ouy some tireosipri tub adn eatdwn yuo you ndeahgc) rvgneiythe !it huo(htg ddi tlgu,gser. .
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Do ni live aamtnahtn we. Ryou ouy ealev the a ew hte uyo nda crehads divle in ahd nehw poecul eophs rbkeo nda csokbl socispua mrfo tnapmtera snnyu argd to madrse e,usroogg - dha sbaeuec het rmatetapn unrgdi ostl neo evela unsdti teh ehatr dan ehav tujs tciy you ruyo ouy sohcol you hutthgo rtamke a ot. You mhi sotalm 'im uotba eervy llsit ubt do ady tnhki ,ryors. To uoy ianag eposkn mhi illts ehntav'. Areidrm wtih a 'seh bbay own. Uobat elki ni dluwo erdnow ahtt it yuo uoy lto euftru htwa a nbee hvae wiht. Vreop pnesd ahtt toywhr to mih syrea were uyo 01 ouy tasl rgtiny het ot. Oyu weer saalyw. Btu hwo wee,r you ovle eh ouy can thtuhgo ot rgown be orpud ihm maeecb nsooeem njeyour adn tyurl touab fo atht oyu povre no. Be uyo os dolwu so orupd. Are os you rdoup. .
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A rmoe ouy tlo ewtir. Dna stetrad praeo yuo ewtir wrt'nee a utb adn lnveo vhea we bmu,oi(sita crok yalws)a? treoyp a. Tis' tbu listl yet ,bledhuips ton olga a. Did usismonsib l,ogruma a lmgauro, uoy le'wl aly)nhiectlc a yuo ahtt sduedno ilke enrve meda rof matigrneh ertwi a sa lhiubsp utb they( onctu cone, so for eerrca did fbrie owret ttha yuo fo. Ni iex,sdet a rof yuo in thpa hect eigakmtnr msiveas kwnogri vrnee iimngaed a oyanpmc gisulnctno eaimd eu'ory no ocisal. Uoy it lvoe. Itoprvesup uoyr are dna tamrs bdieyinrcl rwoeskcor. Het uoy mfro oiarvfet allc krow edsi to onlumdo lcpea - temptnara - teh ebscuea ouyr ryou thwi caine,dpm caasrntuy tge fo by yoru yuo own. .
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Si ruanod sillt domlnuo. Sith and wlli teba 12 ermsum eb cnarce eh. Old leoppe an amn ilbveee on eesrtt a'cnt eht she'. Dgo eh het etsppahi ni and a tlsli gbien eriptnoatu uyppp hrohioendbog ash egeyrn het rfo. Arhcm arye alrhye in tlsa dsaspe. Wsa hes eayrd she was 81 nad. Eht tcsa in vage imlyaf mcuh seh so lla lveo rhteo olidetuv nda eht. Adn uody' cbka ti to mysaeod ot eno idvel nad teh seardh akme ees onw sbolck hngeou mseprdio ne,taamtrp lgno omve uoy morsateom into cazry nyc tjus neoc you uory hre she reh iwth omfr oyu. Zcyar 'sti. Nda aherly dog noe asd,sep the atfre brihsgeon i ehr of emt. . . Deman lhraey. Rsmpioe that hse wsa lfufill uoy. .
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Ew yt?c?i in bike hte osdl hte kt)!ansh a( olcyrmtcoe no. The ewr'e tlisl asnpi rigwnko ocodn ni on. In ew hghi ari,mder to you tgo ugy bvlieee ghue the churs fi uyo dah on ,ferbiyl hatt lhoosc tath can. Atth out hocaloicl and eb he a ni uot an to eruyfslo fo ssle uyo enrdtu edlplu atnh bauesvi eayr. Odog atylhhe evry iolpnearsihts ntsuid nesic not at uryoe' ikgnicp. Ubt eevr glsnei ttah tmi!es ether iaheprp ,onw eneb ayw damn 'reoyu tanh ouvey' aedeggn. Ersdnfi turpseovip ni yuo deebcinirl ywa uoprg rveo an all a of nerev mofr kownn woh o'vyeu ear hvae. .
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And a,qneurnait eray eihlw lmoudno wgrhot adh licsaeylep immense stla epde in saeltiod adn e'voyu in you ahin,elg sjtu teh. Nagzmia adn wen neev ogurthh ymneo - lstil you efisnrd ettlil idong maek it agems ehav mthe eleiintfdy eatrsm reom ch,wtit met and aypl ouy a no segma ieodv rvauois. You afr dna ssle wath orem fo od estsrs noyej oyu. .
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Ahev we tsmola a 50 mroe gnlo ehva 5;0 nhat miste nwrgoig a roebfe dan etkbcu 100 tlsi ew. Nad aws gnicixte a sad ltitel ntrgiun 37. Fiamyl eatevrhw vroe os olok it it fo are ni etlitl ifel 'ntdoes yuo het mcuh leik ese'rth yuo all eth rcasd lfe,t pesdn hte a can ilek gbi a su rfo stlli it ikel stre iwll tnieslmoes dgoni and fesel ubt eb os. Obok hatt sfinih. To go npsia. Oectinnsnt lla eht siivt. Yiclgooalletpa uyor all lulf ti oyu! dbuli iivgnl begni lgano ewavtehr flei batou uoyntmicm niodg on yevou' od nad keep a nca ueascbe you been ouy natw ciosal etcihanut edmai. .
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Ew back llet os ywa lehiw mlals lefi tfle veah partpde yrea ortrse seh go nad teh onwt wsih hes us dlouc atht dlo ouabt eadrdem 'hsde ni 17 i. .
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I vleo you. Leruagft os for i ma uyo. Aveg evern up oyu. Tepk unghips uyo. Rea how oyu viesvrdu nhousei rsyot a moes shit swoe and sfeelrh it uoy sceucss i,rolbher lyon ot. Ut,o uhmc it oiggn od erhe kikc and awhreevt on ew fmro e'erw ot iggon w'ere oejny ot ssa so. No liwl and be eohst sa rvignfigo uentnerco ay,wlas we kin,d we aeinptt of het dan wya. .
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,oevl.
Wn)o ila yb og ial ew(.

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