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 osem ls,utegrg !it ouy but (hgthuo hed)cnga roirpeisti evtgeyinrh tgo nda ewnatd uyo ouy. .
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Ni ew evli mhtnaaant od. Hte ouy one rfmo oury nad lskboc uyo ohhgttu oyu boerk yuo eeval clupeo levae nda peatrmant dmersa ahd the psoeh heva gdar rdnigu rnapmteat psasoiuc to tcyi soclho adhsrce dha nnsyu teh ,sreogogu tjsu devil ni dan a htrae ratmek - uroy we nweh lsto idunts a hte uecesba you to. Imh hntki lamsot eyvre outba ubt ouy do yda ry,sor tlisl 'mi. You mih ae'nhtv aagin to siltl konsep. Es'h baby a rirmaed hitw nwo. Like ouy butao a twha eneb lto lwdou vahe uoy urfetu iwht taht wroned it in. Oyu imh voper rewe 01 that ytnirg eth atls ot oyu to seayr rtywho nespd. Erew yuo lwsaya. Emnoeso uoy oaubt gthhtou uoy odrup he but acn of utlry no tath owh uyo rgwon verop beamec re,ew eb nyuorej and hmi ot ovle. Be pudor so luodw you so. Yuo os pruod ear. .
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Rmeo ouy wreti a tlo. ,boumtiis(a okrc a a proyte ewrti we levno vahe slwy)aa? adn uoy nad ropea tbu 'rtwene rdsatte. Tey ont a tbu ogal t'is hb,uiledps illts. Idd sa of aniyel)htclc hngitream made taht ctnuo rtoew ertiw a a ,urglaom a orf rracee so atth uimsbnsiso neo,c uyo btu ye(th uoy ddi odseudn fierb pbiuhls for arlu,mgo ouy e'llw verne klie. On ahpt yuo nimegaid in amssvie ltuigocnsn a meaikrtgn a uoer'y oapmncy gwioknr mdeia rfo ee,itsdx renev iaclos ni thce. Ouy ti evol. Uyro tsamr rtpsuoevip are icenyirdlb dna oerckrswo. Pretantam tihw ouy yuro llac lomunod ecesbau the won otafervi ouy by rouy - of pida,cemn yauartscn ot egt - form pceal oyru wokr the sedi. .
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Oudolnm is still nruaod. 12 raencc nad eh stih ilwl abte mruems be. Rtetes eoplpe dol nma he's an teh on lvieebe ctan'. Fro iegbn ieapphst tllsi eth a hsa ppypu eh eergyn rtonaetiup in gohbreoohind eth adn ogd. Yaehlr salt reay in crmah aedpss. Adn asw ehs 81 asw eyrda esh. Acts much teh ovle roteh the os and in vdteouil she eagv mlaify lla. Tapa,rtmen ot 'ouyd tjus vmoe ocen wtih nito asortoemm eno hte seh you nda ehr meka yrcaz rofm madsoye ti ot ouy nueohg onw ese akbc vedil raehsd kolcbs nlog adn cny oruy ehr dpsriemo yuo. Rczay tsi'. Nda gdo eon eth ehr ,seaspd yelhra emt srbhenogi of i traef. . . Haryel mndae. Mpieros lllufif ehs tath swa uoy. .
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Odls takn!h)s the kbie no ni oleycomrtc ??tyci eht a( we. In no spnai ocond slitl nowkrig eth 'were. Ew olhosc hgue otg dah no eht uoy rhcsu uyg ttah ileeebv to nac if in ihhg you taht by,eirlf edrami,r. Be in to uto fo oyu suvabei otu htna and an he cocailhlo nudtre arye a lsse atht ueoysflr ulpdel. 'oyure at ltehyha hstneilarsipo nscie ton yevr sudint kipncig oodg. Ggaende nath admn taht reve own, ayw ippearh tub eoy'uv neslgi !mteis neeb rhete oeruy'. Rpuog evro aehv of an uvey'o leirciednb lla rdnesif rnvee onkwn uptesioprv in ayw a orfm you era how. .
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Unoomld iceyplaesl eth qetian,aurn lsta arey adn ni wlhei uoy elitoads memneis adh 'vuyeo ian,elhg ogrwht nda in eedp usjt. Eifndrs wen - tmeh msega remo hc,titw ouhtrgh ltlsi terams diveo oemyn mte nad zmnaiga ndigo it iltlte uyo on a adn ausirvo eamk nvee you lapy msega evah eidniyeltf. Fra whta ssle of rsesst dan uoy emro uoy od ojney. .
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Oggrwni 100 50 aveh ehva 50; ognl a cutbek amstol smite nad mroe stli ew we tahn a efbore. Swa a einctxgi 37 dan nigturn sda ttelil. Tfel, nac ilef senetsomli ikle mcuh eewtvhra ouy llitet us doste'n nigdo eself a it 'rteesh eth sdrac liek os rae eb gib so hte ni lslti miyfla oyu lal ikel okol for lliw tbu adn a it vero of ti trse teh dpsne. Fisinh tath okbo. Pinsa og to. Toticnsnen eth stvii lla. Ngalo dilbu llfu u!yo cloallytoepiag yv'oeu ti bgeni cuaseeb ignvil kpee ouabt mmictnouy oyu rethwaev nad od ogndi flie solica nca a on royu hntcieaut demai all uyo atwn bene. .
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Eaerddm ew reya og i su in olucd os reosrt llsam dlo dna utbao 71 wton ackb eshd' ayw ratepdp evha wielh the ftle esh wshi leif htat tell seh. .
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You i vole. Am oyu so orf guefalrt i. Vage up uoy rneve. Gpnsihu uoy etpk. Olyn uyo who omse viudesrv scusecs sith trsyo a owes roblh,ier ti eoinhsu yuo nda rae rlheesf to. Eerw' it no tou, 'erew to ognig we sas rmof od oigng rhwteeav adn os ickk uchm ot here oynej. Fo ew nda sheto on be grgniofvi entaitp eht ayw sa rnteeucon ,salwya in,dk wlli dan ew. .
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E,ovl.
Ali yb lia w(e go )won.

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