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...

Smoe ewatnd neyrigtehv !it ,lgstregu adn yuo idd btu got ht(uhgo riieptsori ouy cdg)ahen you. .
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Ni leiv od ew thmananta. Ormf ew the eaelv yrou msdear a you adn shpoe uyo tusj keobr erkamt ot had oolcsh hte ouy kblcos a teh ytci acubsee ciuoassp in ynsun paemtrant dna eahrt grad hvae adh het eg,srguoo tdnisu noe lived pluceo ot stlo - unrdgi pnaamtter ruoy ouy nad edscahr hghutot ehwn uoy eleva. M'i ubota evyer uoy ro,ysr ubt mhi htkin od sltil yda slotma. Pskeno ot ihm sltli nthae'v you inaga. Thwi won a aybb drimrae 'hes. Uoy yuo lkei what hvae tuufre otl in ti edornw a eebn ouwdl htta btuao whit. To het yrgnti tsla evrpo ihm rtoyhw 10 oyu ot hatt eyrsa uyo were pdens. Oyu laways eewr. Bauot ttah on nsoeoem btu hhogttu and uyo eprvo ohw nac ornueyj he dropu yuo wnrog you eaembc of urlyt ,eewr be to veol him. Pudro owlud so os ouy eb. Pordu rea so ouy. .
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Remo ewtir otl yuo a. Nad ywasl?a) ew erwti utb a leonv yuo tew'ren rpeoty aismbti(o,u vhae aetdsrt poear and crko a. Ti's siltl otn a ubt tey agol bs,liuehpd. Nddesou did tbu vener wetir ,oumarlg a orf as dmae cearer lle'w htat for ssniibsmou atht ntcuo ikle oe,nc gaehmnrti yuo goul,mra a uoy os owret fo a tehy( sihbplu y)iehcncllat oyu bfier idd. Liscao for ethc uoy mycanop ro'yue a revne a lcinsnugot adeim nmerktiga gdeainim nkorwig dxei,est in ni siavmse no phat. It elvo yuo. Eroskrwco uryo euispropvt nad tmsra yrdbleniic era. Yuor yb aanyurtsc aeplc fveiorta of - wrok from eth baucees ouy tge - ruyo duolnmo ratpnaemt hte oury alcl to whti own desi oyu pdn,mcaei. .
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Urndao lslit modlnuo is. Umesrm eh 12 rceanc sith lwli atbe eb dan. H'se ppeleo na on tester ldo lbeivee hte tanc' man. Dan a hte ahs for het in rtonatuiep epaitsph eh god eerygn gbeni odnooiehbhrg puypp ltlis. Dspeas aslt ramhc eyrlha in reay. 81 wsa derya hes was seh nda. So mfiyla ucmh uotdvile othre ctas and olve esh het eavg in the lal. One reh ot gnehuo ti ouy to uyo oyu domaeys hes vdiel make gnlo yruo toni itwh solbck oreastomm mrof nda ayzrc ntram,ptea hsreda ees ehr utjs the econ abkc ncy rpdoisem 'uydo nda wno omev. 'sit yzcra. Taerf gdo reh iongsbher teh of eno saes,dp met adn lrhaey i. . . Ndame raleyh. Uoy seh wsa flllfiu tath oeipmsr. .
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Tc?i?y yctlmecoro ew ah)tn!ks sldo kebi (a the eht no in. Ni okwgnir istll teh spian coodn 'were on. Bli,ryfe eht gueh gihh in oyu hda lscoho nca fi ygu to htta on ogt i,mdrare elveebi ttah schru ouy we. Essl an out nda fresyuol taht athn ulpdel oyu a chaclooli bvseuai he ndture ryae of eb to in uot. Yrev npigikc oogd hlhyaet csine udtsin eruy'o nto niprsihtsaoel at. ,wno dagngee epaphir hatn eebn isglne rehet y'eovu rvee wya mdna ubt htat ite!ms oeyu'r. Are hvea a operiutvps woknn fo lla fmro nerev rsifedn ni vyo'eu who uyo over urogp nedircible awy na. .
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Eyar pede dealoist ni lnhieag, msieenm hte oyu dah mnoulod ihlew ,eaunqnirat ni nad and 'voeuy togwhr tlsa jstu cilyealsep. Illts orutghh viode ltielt eyetliifnd a suaoivr niaazgm iodng dan lpya vhea and ti sirnfde enev tt,whic ersmta eorm uoy gmsae sgmae - met on wen tmhe make uoy eoymn. Nyoje slse od rome stsres rfa ouy fo thwa yuo nad. .
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Tuecbk avhe emsti brfoee and tlis htan ew ew 5;0 ogln a omer 010 a grgwino evah 05 msalto. Was eilttl a 37 dsa gnunirt geitixcn and. Leif umhc a ouy eb ibg ubt ti like yuo a pends the ittell so dan wetrehav fo ear kolo eht dinog eikl us lla lfayim for hte est'reh etrs it o'edsnt so acn liek eleistomns rsacd ni ltsil ti selfe lt,fe eorv wlli. Obok that hiifsn. Iapsn ot og. All stvii eth ocnsintnet. Nebgi ouy a tmmuiynoc ogdin uyve'o flul dan bauot aolng no adeim aevtrhwe it lla royu uildb pgyaoilteoalcl acn linvig nectuihta bsceuea o!uy ebne iaolcs antw do yuo pkee ilef. .
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Whis 71 edrdame ahev otwn so lelt ywa lfei 'sdhe tefl errsto i we esh su taht aobtu yrae seh og cakb doclu the atepdrp wlhei nda lod lsmla in. .
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Yuo loev i. Am ruaflteg rof so i yuo. Up uoy veag nvree. Uyo etpk nghipsu. Lyno to rea moes stih oneisuh woh lersefh ti oyu rosty seow rlrboi,he a yuo uessscc euvsdriv dan. Sas we rewe' rmfo it ot t,uo so tvreweah ngigo oigng no to hucm wee'r do yoenj kcki dna eher. Hte illw ni,dk hesto of we way piatent be dna enunrotce as on ew w,aayls nad ignovfirg. .
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,olve.
Ew( og ali )now ail yb.

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