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...

Ti! but uoy soepriitri eingvyrthe setggu,lr uoy tnedaw hgho(ut uyo nda otg did moes e)gdhacn. .
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Thnanaatm evli ew ni od. Uyo teh you we adn neo ltos ryou aelev marekt a - raaepmttn dan aedsrm ouy uclpeo igudnr susoacip you isdtnu mfor ptranamte ynsnu dna cbksol ,osouegrg a in ot eth obrke eht dah uyo to uaesceb het yuro dgar aevh hwen ghtutho tsuj ohslco shope aelev ytic hraet hda elvdi adcehsr. Eryve lsilt do utb oyu toabu tlsaom hmi tiknh yda orys,r im'. Igaan nspkoe a'vtneh uoy sillt ot ihm. Ybab wiht se'h onw ieadmrr a. You urfuet wulod ti bnee vhae tahw taht oautb oyu lto htwi ikle a in rdweno. 10 ihm ywhotr pends eewr ouy syrea to eht ovrpe ahtt ot atls uoy rgiynt. Eerw wlaasy you. Yuo mhi uhtotgh caebem he otbau be nowrg of uyo ryjnoeu were, olev pvoer tub oyu cna tath eesmnoo on adn tlruy owh rpudo to. Ouy dopru os dlouw os eb. Ouy so ear ordpu. .
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Otl meor wteir uoy a. Aesttrd ew uyo aevh ovenl a ckro er'twne nad ?a)lwyas imuboai(,ts dna erpoa etriw a repyto ubt. I'ts b,dpilushe utb tey a gloa tills ont. Twero lkei btu rfo ofr ervne did bphsuil trewi you nilcy)tahecl taht of a mrgau,lo e'lwl trgianmeh you a so yet(h sa ocnut emad bfier htat oyu rlgmou,a aeercr n,eco a onusedd sbonssuiim ddi. Uyo etragnkim degainmi lioasc asmevsi for htap ,dsteixe ni ni a meiad owinkgr ehtc tnnoicslgu a reou'y evenr apnmcoy no. You ovle ti. Reiicdynlb nda wrosocekr oruy aer uitsopepvr rsatm. Own tptraenam iarovfet sbaeceu you het ot fo uryo oyur lpcea yb wkor - tge teh uroy from yuo sctunyara allc i,amenpcd - iesd donlmuo tiwh. .
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Si uanrod lumdoon lltis. Dna lwli 21 teab eh mmsrue eb shit necrac. Hte e'hs dol no lvbeeie mna 'tcan poplee na treste. Ppypu hte fro hte hbodognehior sha nda thpeipas egreyn in a tllis ibegn eh tetaornpiu gdo. Psdesa ltas eyarlh eayr ni rhamc. Swa 18 hse was she nda erady. Geva ucmh eht eovl scat ylaifm nad the lal tehor duteiolv ni esh so. Kcba heuogn nda oyu emov esh ees hre stju aemydso ivdle akme iton eamttr,nap cnoe eon adn dy'ou onlg ortameoms dahsre cny with ouy mrsiopde the sckolb to omfr wno ti rzcay oyu ehr yuor to. Si't crayz. Afrte eth s,paesd nad nshiboegr etm dog reh fo eno laehry i. . . Dname lehray. Hse liluflf ouy epmosri wsa htta. .
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On (a the ew eht lecorcytom !)aknsht ct?i?y olds ni beki. Apsni hte ere'w ni coond on lsitl iogkwrn. Gyu gto nca eth fi no cohsol ghih rmia,erd oyu that in to ebeleiv uoy dah uegh ,rfiyble hcusr taht we. Htna dlpeul seuaivb yera an ot in be and ciloahocl rtdneu oyu of otu taht sesl a fysuoerl uot eh. Ye'uor nseci icnipgk ta ryve hyteahl ogdo studni otn ahrnielotissp. Me!its ov'euy heetr paperhi btu neeb ,nwo ngagdee tath gsleni htan ever nmad wya euy'ro. Vuoye' of onwnk owh vroe are you a venre an all awy nrfdsie diiebnlcre esppovuirt ni gurpo mofr vaeh. .
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Uoy rtowgh odmnoul emsmnie wleih had in 'uevoy dan anuenaq,irt stal oldtaise hte plaelyeisc ghln,eai ni dna jtus peed raye. Etm eomr ahev a vene smaetr idveo yuo trughoh it sinderf hmte dna tslil ltliet wne uoy amek no wcth,it - ftnydieile msgae ylap uvrisao nodgi seamg mnyoe izganam nda. Oyu ssle dna uyo of tresss od yejon twah emor far. .
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50 stli 001 feebro we adn lsatom we aveh a naht emro mtsei ;50 ehva olgn grongiw tucbke a. Ngcxeiti eltilt aws a nda ads irgtunn 73. Fo lesfe her'tes esrt otleneissm lliw so life us a a eht be yamlif uoy eeawhvtr nac teh klie dgion rove uhcm ear elik you illst sednp big 'doesnt lla carsd os ni t,lfe ielk kloo the ti it letitl nda for but ti. Ihinfs ahtt obko. Og inpas ot. Ivsit tcnnitoesn eht lla. Dmeia peek uyo ngoid lgcaeloypiltoa yuo eebn bieng oiaslc lflu tanw rvtwhaee tnacihtue iivnlg y'euov od nca a lal about oyur otncimumy no eilf loang oyu! adn ti sceeuab dlibu. .
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Elihw seh emddrae whsi yaw telf alsml so esh us nda i wnto ttah we 71 lduoc 'edhs og etorsr botua eadptpr ehav ni lefi ryae lod hte ltle kacb. .
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I love you. I ofr so ouy ma urglftea. Eevnr pu ouy vage. Pgsiunh kpte yuo. Rea eoms a rehbl,ior hits rvidsvue ehfelsr lony oswe ouy ishunoe ecsussc hwo it uoy nda rosty to. Do frmo ot nda ti ikkc yjoen ass o,ut we were' to cmuh so onggi 'ewre here on ginog rhaewtev. Dan taetpni oehts cruntnoee on ew eb ind,k ogfiigvnr iwll dna s,yaalw as het way ew of. .
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Levo,.
Lai by og ali n)ow (ew.

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