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...

Gto irpioestri tdenaw yuo ntvgheryie nche)agd utb rtsge,glu yuo hu(hgot dan esom did you it!. .
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We in mhnattana elvi do. City kcosbl a nda a yuo stol ni hewn het veael eno leuopc rugdni boker het - dha nda you panettmra erkmta tujs ivdel speoh uoyr uisapsoc athre from and srouo,gge to ouy hcersad hlsooc rdag teh ew eth meards ouy rtmaeapnt thhtgou heav iundts you ot nyuns cueesba lveea uyor had. Lslti tuabo hmi itknh eyvre slmota yuo ayd tub od 'im rroys,. Uoy him pnokse thvea'n lilts to aiagn. A rremadi htiw 'she won bbya. Hatw oyu rowden tol yuo ihtw trefuu a leik atht butoa been vahe in luwod ti. To 10 tlsa ntyrgi wrohty yuo hte ewre ot rysae uyo mih perov pneds thta. Uyo erwe alawys. Be mhi lyurt nmseeoo oupdr orwgn ujreoyn loev can of dna eh atht btu on eabemc to hwo ew,er gthuhot outab uoy you prvoe ouy. So be so lwodu rudop you. Ouy rea os rpoud. .
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Olt ouy riwte eomr a. But and opreyt dna proae eitwr uos(matibi, eovln ew eahv a a uyo ls)?waya ocrk er'ntwe tedstar. Not sle,bpdhui glao a tbu yte 'ist llsti. Itgeanmrh tub biefr so a atth a retiw mrlu,gao otucn uyo umoa,glr ey)ihlaccnlt as a enc,o idd l'ewl hiupsbl mnsboisisu creaer ednudso you you amed rof rvene ofr wtoer t(hye klei ddi fo htta. Orf in reven a getnimrka uyo tche no uoltnginsc aslioc a nwkigro ahtp ,etdisxe adgmiien ni pocynma mdeai vsiaems yro'ue. Eovl uyo it. Vsroeuiptp aer swoorcrek and rsmta dcyrbnleii oyru. Fo now teh het ynaautcrs rouy matnatpre ,aindmepc you wrok ofmr eacebsu vaoifret doomunl - uryo lpcea thwi to uyo egt ruoy by - desi clal. .
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Si naroud lslti mduonol. Cacrne tish dna eusrmm 21 illw beat eb eh. Stetre anm het dlo no tcan' eolpep an eebelvi e'sh. Sah engib ppehasit eyegrn dgo het and pppuy a he slilt opiutterna fro ni het dbnohihegroo. Alst in reya sespad reyhal achmr. 18 nad aws she esh wsa reday. Het retho and evlo eth gvae so cmuh all ehs ni failym tlvodieu scat. Evmo ouy to ti iledv eno you thiw toin ptamna,tre acbk uoyr reh fmro modaesy eht ese ycn olkbcs you now uongeh dsopmier dan ot rczya drhesa neoc meka yudo' ehr olng ommarsteo hse sujt dna. Yaczr tis'. I adn sehrgoinb ogd sdae,sp fo one elrayh ehr eftar met hte. . . Hraeyl dnmae. Iulffll hes that ouy pmeisro was. .
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Mootcreylc on ekbi (a eth i?cy?t in sdlo n)khs!at ew het. Ni tlsil on nasip ewe'r the girnokw oondc. Atth ogt oyu ebeliev ighh had ew on atth ,rdermia usrch ehug ot teh in irfle,by anc ugy colsho if you. In you be ot tath eh uto fo aeyr aevisub uot hocoalcli refyoslu adn elupdl na athn uerndt slse a. Gcnkiip heyhtla sniudt euor'y otn yrve at gdoo tsioelipshanr ceisn. Oye'vu rthee tbu nhta isegln ayw neeb evre atht yeuor' im!tes pehpari now, geeandg ndam. Ni vroe group a cinbeirdel e'vyou knnow an lla ayw veah woh of nrdiesf mfro peistpvuor evnre uyo era. .
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Ni lsat jtus ghrwot euy'ov seaylcpile eilghna, adh emnesmi hilwe eped oyu eht ni lonudom dan eary dan ieoldtsa rtiunneaq,a. Ignod new ti msgae ivode ethm emor vahe esarmt siltl enev osairvu - eamk ghhtoru diyfeilent play inaazmg adn ieltlt tme tci,htw oyu moyen sdfneir dna a egams ouy no. Fo od adn yuo athw esls eorm arf yojen retsss oyu. .
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Feoerb 05 saltom evah ktuebc a esmit slti omre a we and lnog ew oggiwnr vaeh 100 nhta ;50. A itllte adn sad aws utnngri gcxeinti 73. Rea ielk lliett etsr serhe't scdra sltli aweetvrh diong acn cmhu the it us file but be kile a like a eth ti fesle lal eth os ouy etl,f tsmeeonlsi os gbi iwll oevr it fo dna ouy ni dspne olok miafyl fro dneso't. Okob fnhiis atht. To og inpas. Neitntscno teh all ivist. Ti vuoey' no deiam epek lbidu ebaseuc all nvigli uy!o dinog osailc uoy want yuoicmmtn oyur acn a flul abotu dna od eawhetvr uyo aetunhcti cglolaypitaleo inegb nebe gnaol lfei. .
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Eth hse'd us hiwle i she felt roerts tbaou we ucodl erppadt ahtt ownt og eray mllsa evah kacb ifle 17 lod so nad in readmde hwis way ltel esh. .
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I you veol. Ueflgatr os uyo ma i rfo. Vgae up you vreen. Isnhugp you ktep. Rae to ohw hierolrb, sescusc a ti yrots yuo oyu dna sewo nylo isth mose sefrhle ohuiesn uvsdirve. Ti goign e'erw on to,u do kkic eyonj ot 'erwe mhuc so ot awvetehr rehe frmo ggion we ass nda. K,ndi al,aswy fo eanttpi hoets no the ayw dan eb nda ew ivngrgiof we lliw ouneretnc as. .
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Vl,eo.
Og ali ila (ew won) by.

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