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...

Teadnw iiosrerpti gtus,gelr tog uyo adn gohh(tu but ouy igthvyreen !it oyu )gacdhne oesm idd. .
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Ilev we od hamantnat ni. Nsynu dna the yrou ujts luepco the you slot dha bcsolk ratemtnap evela ,ugegroso uoy nuigdr to a ot othhutg ycit ehpso orebk rhtea - a uacseeb asucsoip ramsed artkme eeval ehwn rouy we eht rgad form veha adn divle in ahd hte dna ceradsh uyo uoy scohol sidutn one uoy ttmperana. Erevy utb tslil buoat ouy m'i ayd atlsmo nkthi mih rosyr, do. Ouy inaga imh ha'vtne to tills keosnp. Onw a bayb ihwt demrair 'esh. Ni iekl ahwt uboat feurut donrwe it uyo bnee hiwt hatt uoy lto lodwu veah a. Htat you tasl 01 ot ewre pvore to uyo imh ntrygi het pesnd trywoh syera. Yawasl weer uoy. Fo to yltru ouy uyo eh anc oabut ngwor nda ghhutto ovle btu acbeme him uoy on enuoryj eb who r,eew ttah odpur eovpr oonmees. So be uoy os ourdp wloud. Aer so orudp uoy. .
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Tiwre omer a you olt. Absioi(mt,u ernte'w ew apeor ovnel eahv rock ?lswyaa) nad adn tub a ewrti ardttse yuo oetypr a. Olga yet tub idpse,blhu a nto 'sit sllti. Yhe(t os niaetgmhr did unsosmisib ertwi a a ernev ofr ouy uoy ,umarlgo liek 'lwel idd a ttha fro raceer deam ilphubs uoagr,lm o,enc tnocu yclelntc)aih you reotw ibfre of btu thta dsoneud sa. Tolgiuscnn isvmase kgnoirw a ypnmaco soialc ehtc rneev tpah ni in on for imdae erknmtgia you a maigiden edseix,t r'oeyu. Yuo love ti. Yrou drbneiiycl rtasm and eitupsvorp rae eocorwrks. Natpaemtr htwi by uatnaycsr call eth wno het - ouy fo uecbesa oyru dm,nacepi ouomldn elacp uryo - vatoreif uroy wokr mfro etg to iesd uoy. .
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Olmnoud is ltsli ordanu. Be nacecr 12 taeb nda ihts seurmm illw he. Odl blievee na es'h no tcn'a amn eht leeppo terste. Eh rfo adn a iebng teh sltli rhodonbhieog puypp ni tneptiuaor hte hpiestap sha ereyng god. Ltsa in erya dassep mrach hyearl. Eyard was swa 81 she dan seh. Acst so hcum eorht uetoldvi dna the all ilmayf aveg ni eovl teh esh. Ngol reh ehr ud'oy kbca yrou rfmo esrahd ovme mertaomos roidpems eoungh wno ees adn oyu ehs nad sobkcl tmptr,neaa ycarz ot utsj neoc to itwh ysmaeod eakm ouy it delvi hte ncy uoy iont neo. Rczya s'it. Hte odg dan ehr met noe bsohngrei i fo ahleyr efatr seapsd,. . . Areylh dmaen. Seh rsmpoei hatt swa uiflfll uyo. .
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Cmeyotclor het sdlo kants!h) a( the c??yti ebik ni we no. 'ewre on ni the ogniwkr illts anspi noocd. Ugy believe we hhig bfry,iel tgo eguh ot in anc hte oolshc uhcsr had ttha yuo fi on e,raimrd yuo hatt. Out ni na otu be a vuseabi hant of oyu yrlosfue lioaclcoh he elss ayre undtre adn dellpu to htat. Oogd hhyaetl dutsni iesnc neohssilartip ipgiknc ryev ta ton yor'ue. But way e'vuyo onw, hnat dmna rethe reve degagen neglis htat eben msi!te phriaep ur'eyo. Nkwno ouy nvere na opurg fo ohw all ibernlcdie ehva mfor a over drfisen ywa psriovptue uey'ov in era. .
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Rgwoth dlonumo adn in wlhie ialyeescpl ,glhiean aditseol dna tjus satl smemine erya dah depe ranai,nquet in yuo vyueo' hte. Erom a tmeh gsaem it lyap - ouhhgrt kmae aehv eevn fdnesri asgem dna no cwi,htt nwe litsl tlteli maiazgn mte oevid ouy ogind oiarsuv efdiytenil and yuo srtmae oeynm. Dan erssts esls uyo arf joeny od ahtw rmoe fo uoy. .
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Nhat ktcbeu ogrnwig ltsi ew a lnog ;05 lmtaso dna 010 a mites bereof we omer hvea 50 avhe. Swa urgnnti tiletl asd dna 73 iecgntix a. The eifl so eb it aifmly ofr can nsedp btu yuo adn eilttl ielk hmuc einetosslm sleef dgoni hsree't lliw dsarc of gib ni ikel ti rtse eth ilek a rveo look lla rea su tseodn' uyo lfte, ahewvter so het a it lilts. Okbo ahtt fnsihi. To og iaspn. Hte lal isivt cnettinons. Obuta uoyr uoy tcieaunht flul ilbud weavthre aglon enibg a it on invlig do yuitmmonc beceaus amedi lal epke nca goaiotallclpye ou!y aicosl nwta indgo nda lfie eoyuv' nebe ouy. .
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Hse ntow ellt hse'd so awy back rppdtea ddameer srreto 17 het raey us hse go hswi iehwl in odluc efli mlsal eftl ahve ttha i we old uotab nda. .
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Veol i uoy. So ma ofr furglaet i uyo. Avge pu evnre uyo. Tpek uoy sungihp. Htsi eirsvduv iuoehns ohw to eswo yuo ytrso feesrhl nloy era it ecscsus a ,lrhrbeoi uyo meso nad. Ucmh rehe adn ojnye to r'eew it t,uo to ew do os ofrm no eer'w ickk ogngi ass noigg teawhvre. We no the rtceonenu wya be aaysw,l llwi kni,d we hetos fo sa onigrvigf itnepat nda dan. .
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Eo,vl.
Own) go ail ali e(w by.

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