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...

Daetwn nyivtgeehr oyu ,rstuggle )decngha meos ti! oyu nad oyu ddi tiopieirsr tog tbu uhog(ht. .
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Ew ntmahnaat liev ni do. Yuo drag lsocbk radesm ot yuo taeprmant a koebr terha eno we eht tols dah juts tiyc teh aschder uynns you ogugeso,r evah ot ettanrmap speho the nad uyo ahd earmkt vleae you dlevi yruo ungrid hgthotu mofr ni a eealv hte ascubee ntudsi dna yoru saucspio - dan ewhn oplceu hoslco. 'im yro,sr yuo ady do tills hmi amtsol utb oatub hktni eeyvr. Poekns to you gnaia enthv'a imh llist. Idaemrr a hes' aybb won thiw. Nderow lkie nbee uoy ni oabut ftruue iwth lduwo ahve hatt a you atwh olt ti. To atth denps pervo 10 mih to tlsa ouy ayrse you rgytni ryhwot weer eth. Sawyal erew yuo. Imh odupr can epvro ot oyu be ogrwn hwo on fo atth hguhtot rutyl onjuery oseemno beamce oyu er,we adn love ubt uabot he yuo. Doluw purod you so os be. You odupr os ear. .
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Moer you tirew olt a. Rcok bitso,mui(a trateds optrye w?sa)yal etwir eonvl a nda erpao nw'etre adn ew ubt a ouy eahv. Gloa ety ilubshd,ep llsti a i'ts tbu ton. Erfbi uiinssmsob a auol,mrg a ddi iuphsbl tonuc uyo ouy ttha lg,raumo did duseond sa that ci)elhactynl of y(teh troew for but iwetr edma oen,c eikl eenvr mtigahenr a fro yuo raecre 'ellw so. No oyu 'ueory smveais oigsntcunl rfo nemratkig cisalo htce imeda a giwkrno in a inaegmdi in tpah sxete,di mcnoyap vnree. Evol it you. Rae dna sorcwoerk rouy edirilbncy mstra ioupesrptv. Epni,acdm teg iwth lcal ouy korw side - teh sbacuee of oyru atrnpeamt oyur yb uoyr eht domolnu cpael eofavtir to atryasnuc - mrfo nwo yuo. .
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Is lislt lnmuodo nodrau. Cracne 21 siht nad uesrmm aetb he eb liwl. H'se eht strete tnac' lppoee on amn ieebvle na lod. Adn bgeni het he orf in dgo tearuionpt isppteah a pyupp boohrgoihden gerney hsa the llits. Aslt erya epsdas rayhle in rmhac. Saw yared esh ehs asw 18 and. And ehs lal udloeivt elov eth lyifma os muhc vgae in the asct oreht. ,rtmenaapt stju rdmpoise ekam ceon own gnol mdyeosa oyu reh rcayz ehr ees one nda ot the hes ot lcsobk iedvl it ud'oy dasrhe hnuego cbka yuor masotroem uyo wiht omfr vome onti nyc you nda. 'its cyzar. Faert teh tem dna eno erh reayhl asp,sde srbnhoeig ogd fo i. . . Ylahre anmed. Ouy aws osrmeip tath seh ffllilu. .
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Ha!tsn)k in a( on hte we loycortecm het lsod bike ity??c. Hte ondco er'we orkwngi illst no in asnip. Ivleebe nac ogt yuo ughe r,armied ni adh rshuc het ouy fi ihgh ew choslo ahtt thta ybf,erli yug no ot. Deullp sueviab otu na a nda tuo in ttha to usryeflo eh you eb tuedrn hatn lses hiolcaocl eyar of. Rvey csien reoyu' oodg ton siolihaensrtp tnuids hlatyhe ta ngcipki. Gneedga wya nebe hreet evre ,onw est!im re'uyo igseln yevu'o amnd atht btu hnta hapreip. Vreen bdlicirnee an otpvueirps you'ev who lla oyu wkonn vore ni fo wya from rindesf rea orupg heav a. .
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Atsl uoy numolod the ustj in gn,aielh pceasiyell in dna hda eo'vyu oidtesal rtghwo hwile eyar dna deep qrn,aentuai mineems. Vsaoiur reifdsn emgas mhet ti a dna dna dvieo ylpa veen uoy on hothrgu rome lttile teidliyfen aagnmiz emt - vahe ouy starme yomne eamgs ginod twtih,c ekam llits wen. Uyo dan hawt yejno rssest lses fo od uyo reom raf. .
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A keubtc ew a 010 ntah tsli oemr smloat 50 estmi igwgron ognl vahe vhea 5;0 eeforb we nda. A dsa tgcenxii aws ilttle dna irnngtu 37. Lla reov ,eflt ilnemsseot chum eb rof lkie tsneo'd liek fo hseert' lkoo indog so lilw aymifl tesr a hte a ti dan eslfe arscd us ni ti heewatvr yuo lilst igb os the aer nac ti ettlli efli ubt elki ouy dpesn hte. Okbo ttah iifnsh. Og nsapi to. Tntcoseinn eht all siitv. Do ginbe can digon idaem ouy iomutcnmy iefl natw it veu'yo on liivng otabu natueitch adn lduib been yuo iolcsa peek lagon flul hweeatvr a uy!o ogyllaeaitlocp lal ryou besaceu. .
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Yaw abuto us og os ni bcka ehva letl ahtt esh arye mdeerad lweih lfte praepdt ehs ntwo the odl 17 shwi serort i e'sdh we doclu and life llsma. .
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You lvoe i. I rof ouy aegutfrl ma os. Uoy up evren aveg. Ouy tkpe gphsnui. Rea sweo eelshfr ccuesss ouniehs hsit oyu ouy a h,ieroblr sroyt yoln to viduvers and ti esmo woh. Ti hree whvterae re'ew do t,ou ynejo uhcm oingg ot kkci rmof nda ew niggo rwe'e ass to on os. Ki,nd tneuonecr tpietna tehso we gnioigfrv dan ywa as fo dna we het be wls,aya ilwl no. .
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E,lov.
W)no ew( ila ial by go.

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