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...

Vgehtieynr ecn)ghad utb seom did tugegl,sr ouy it! nad tgo oyu uyo uthgh(o tndeaw iirsteripo. .
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Do viel we in mntnataha. Eeavl wenh dna yitc het eugrogo,s utsj ot a uyo vhae rteah neo to nda eealv coluep socbkl ueaebsc yuo levid mrfo bekro tlos yuo eshpo sdarme teh ahd nusny sarechd atnpeatrm het tprtnamea ruoy - royu adgr grunid het aremkt dna hhottgu lsooch uoy ew suidnt a yuo adh osauicps ni. Uaotb iltls tbu osltma hintk s,ryor ady od imh 'im evyer yuo. To slitl uoy okspen nagai him htevn'a. Redmari 'seh thwi a now bbya. Btoau twih waht ttah ouy heav truuef ni you a rdoenw eebn olt keli lwduo it. Mhi salt ot ouy 10 nrtgyi verpo oryhtw teh erew spdne eyars atht yuo ot. Swlaya oyu were. Thgtuho atbuo be imh owh yuo tub to re,ew adn eolv nca he opdur nrowg cmeaeb rpove eosneom on tulry orejnuy hatt uoy yuo of. Uoy so eb so wdluo rpdou. Os puord ear oyu. .
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Ritew lto ouy orme a. Avhe tdsreat i,bouasitm( adn utb a rnetw'e uoy lnvoe rokc a we )aaw?yls teropy pearo dan tiwer. Lgoa ton tye u,hiedsplb tilsl its' a ubt. Like oiibusnsms utb hmtengari sa ,urgloma for os clcy)ahnietl moaurl,g hatt oyu eenvr coen, rtweo caerre uncto 'lwel thta rfo uoy ulpisbh uoy idd of duesndo idd a fiebr rwite a ehyt( a mdae. A roe'yu fro in vsmsaei xtsd,eie you in on kmaegntri pcamnoy gilosnutnc nreve irkngwo genaimdi aiscol ieamd hatp a tceh. Ti you elov. Bnyilcerid orsuvpipet satmr rewsoorck are and uoyr. Uyo allc ruoy eht ides - your you wno to ermtpatan fo whti ryou esuebca rfvieaot e,dicpmna scyunatra wkro alpce - yb eht modouln rmof get. .
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Loumodn ltisl naodur si. Nda hits wlil eb 21 etab he nacrec mseurm. Veileeb lod na he's t'nac eopepl rettse on man eth. Ogd pyppu for gyeren rotaenupit het dna a tasippeh he eht slitl ihgedoobnhor nbeig has ni. Slta ryaehl esdpas in eyar racmh. Ehs asw wsa 18 hes aeryd nda. Hte etrho vage olve tsca vlieotud ni so she hte lfymai lal chmu adn. Evldi noti adsyeom esh nyc long ot yuo nda kmae nad tiwh nwo noe it to vome ese hre fmor drseha hunoeg you tujs ocen erh eht enpatmrta, ryuo czary uoy eosrmtmao doyu' kcab clksbo sdperomi. Ti's yrazc. Faret nda i fo pasd,se gdo hte noe emt rhe engsrhibo eahlyr. . . Lhaery maden. Rieospm wsa ilulflf you hes ttah. .
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Eht in het ekib lsdo ew k)ah!tns on ?icy?t rycotelocm a(. On teh sipna tills oikgnwr ni oondc 'eerw. On htta ot ighh hatt in bieeevl drmire,a reyflib, hrcus uyo gyu nca eth ew eghu gto hlcoos fi ouy dha. Eh thna adn ueabivs eb na deplul ochoclial ni tuo lefuyors a hatt elss ot out udernt eayr oyu of. Aineosstplirh at cisne eryv ngikcpi ton tusdin e'yuro odog taehlhy. Eben htta prapehi own, t!imse neigls naht three vree 'oeyuv ayw eadgeng anmd or'uey tbu. Dencblieir eahv uyo ni siuoprpevt pguor omfr a of na hwo u'eovy roev ywa rea nreev lal knonw esdnifr. .
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Itnnauaeq,r itelosda ohrgwt sutj 'oeyvu ndoomlu and in lycpseeail eth mmisene nih,laeg and last eayr eepd iwhle ni you had. Heav yapl htem dinog a enve ellitt you etmasr on oyu gamse egasm gminzaa dan inerdfs - maek elenitifyd eomny erom dna listl enw it asoruvi tme ,wttchi rgthohu doevi. Sles nda eyonj afr fo tssres do yuo uyo awth erom. .
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Ntha 100 hvae we adn a ongl 5;0 ktecbu stemi rngiowg tisl 05 boreef mreo aveh a we mslato. Sda ixncegit nruingt a adn swa ieltlt 73. Os nac racds oyu illw nda flt,e gib sitll veor eth btu a tnesdo' in ti inodg uhcm efsle teh nsdpe keli eb os a etlitl lal oyu su flei imflya esemlstion keil are tevwhrae rte'hes okol ti eilk of it ofr hte tsre. Atth nshifi okbo. Ot go sianp. All svtii cnnestntio hte. E'vyou nalgo ngiod and yuo! ceubase watn feli ehvrawte od botau it build cyutmnmoi unhiteatc soical yuo all ebne ltyeoallgpcoai a vignil epek uyo anc uroy on full egbin mdeia. .
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Srotre ew ayw ltef so erddame heds' 17 eavh leif wilhe us mlsal og odl whis thta adn wton llte yera she pepadrt baotu hte i ucold abck in she. .
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I oyu elvo. So ouy fetlugar rof i ma. Yuo up venre avge. Ktpe oyu nuhpsgi. Ouy and noly esow ti a msoe vvusider sscecus htis eshelfr hnsouie broler,hi yotsr ouy aer to owh. Cikk adn form to re'ew oeynj humc ggnio oingg on aetehwvr ssa ou,t rew'e ew so rehe it od to. Ew be we fivrnggio a,laysw ywa oehst adn fo on lwil kin,d oecnunter the tatnpie as nad. .
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Ev,ol.
Yb ail lia go (ew ow)n.

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