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...

Thhuog( risrtieipo tevnhgirey uyo ,gtlrugse ubt eanwtd tgo gencdha) moes t!i adn uyo ddi you. .
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We nnaathatm do ni ivle. Argd eth paeatrmtn het a dan nda ticy hcloso ebokr uryo dintsu to het ot vldei edasmr you aemtrk otsl dah yoru ew and - sujt rathe you a ouy auscbee snynu one aleev ouy ealev hpeso ertatpman ni had ehnw hte bolkcs eahv uhogtth puleco osroegu,g uoy rugnid puasscoi srceadh fmro. Btu oaubt rro,sy ayd tikhn im' eevyr sltli him od ltsoam ouy. Giaan kespno tisll ot mhi hvna'te uoy. Baby irrmeda a own hse' hwti. Tawh olt ti a ulowd yuo nroewd whit elik yuo in htat eben vhae aotub urteuf. Orvep uoy ot ytirgn htrwoy 01 to you ayser thta ewer lsta teh dspne imh. Aawsly you eewr. Owrng emnoeos erovp no eovl we,re to cbeeam ouy eb him he nca fo tub ltuyr uoy touab woh hhgutto uoy and atht porud ynrojeu. Eb rdoup so yuo so luodw. Odpru so ear oyu. .
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Uyo eitrw a ermo otl. Ew a )lwsaya? yuo rnew'te teiwr tbu dan and oaerp ehva a crok rsadtte ,atiimsub(o ovnle reptyo. Eyt btu loag ist' a lstli i,ubelhpds not. Gam,rolu iubismssno ewrti cielht)lcyna rtewo uyo yt(eh uoy idd ,agmloru adme orf nucot htat uoy ddi thta lispubh irfbe a a ekil raecer 'lelw ihgmertan ,eocn rof eousndd but a rveen as os of. Ameid neerv a naimedgi on in cteh paht esvmasi a soialc mtnagrkei ofr cngnutoils ,stiedxe yamocnp yuo gwrniok uoey'r ni. It olev ouy. Ruyo wckrrsooe are rmsta biiynldrce dan etuppisrvo. You the - usrntayca - tge onmolud ot work by of dies ebcsuea taermtpan cipamdne, ormf uyo llca royu yuor itorveaf eth wiht wno elpca oury. .
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Uranod si odomnlu listl. 21 eb nda liwl eh smemur beta crance hsit. Dol eblviee sh'e oleepp nam on the trtees t'can na. Eht dna eth nertpotuai ahs ogd in eh ppyup rhooeihdongb tipepash tllsi negeyr for gebin a. Lats yraelh ni seaspd hcrma year. Hse ehs 81 wsa nad rayed was. Vole in the all adn umch euvdliot so orhet she hte scat yflaim evag. 'odyu reh you ot oyru soblck esh eoghun rmatpaetn, you ese thwi jtsu amke once vmeo it teh ouy ncy otni adn irsedpom glon odmeays trooamsem ahreds levid and eno mfor zycra wno her to kacb. Zcayr 'tsi. Ihbreogns pass,ed ftare hre of odg laehyr teh i etm and noe. . . Mneda yaerhl. Oyu opiemsr illfulf htat hes swa. .
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?city? rmetccooyl the on in a( sodl sk!ha)tn we teh bkei. In teh no w'eer npais odocn nkrwoig isllt. On the ttha fi tgo dha mia,errd we ohlsco uoy uhcsr ni nac bievlee ,byrfile to taht uheg ouy ghhi guy. To atth out terndu isebuav sles lohcocila he eb a dna an ni fo eurylfso htna yuo raye out ullpde. Uor'ey ta iigckpn nto lethhay iudtsn yver cnise ogdo aneitissophrl. 'evoyu uo'yre ephipra but bene mdan emtis! way ever hatt linseg ow,n rehte eadgnge nhta. Evah na ormf awy all a nnokw vroe of dlnrbiceei yuove' ni owh ear snrdief evrne uorgp you euitvppros. .
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Arey hda ureqntai,na lwieh eminsme nda peed ohtwrg teh saeitdol utjs in leayplcies oe'uvy dna ni dnomolu uoy stal ginhe,al. Nvee orem amseg ilttle lstli ti etm ehmt a emgas usrovai mnzaiga dna evdio nyteilefid rohhtgu - uoy tcwht,i ylpa mtesra no reifnds hvea akem gdion yuo dna wne mnyeo. Od oyu elss of eoyjn dna uoy rsstse tahw raf mroe. .
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;50 atnh a ew eukcbt wggionr a lsti 100 msiet mtaslo bfoere logn omer hvae dna 50 eavh ew. 37 nngurit illtte aws dsa a and neixctig. In mfilay acn ouy and tser ndesp ti flese a 'donste gbi tub oyu aer dogin orev the kiel a het all feli so lesseitnmo eltilt hte su eb os mhcu ,telf liwl lkei loko hvtaeewr fo hre'est leik tlsli it csdra rfo ti. Fnshii okbo htat. Nspia go to. Lal ncseittnon tvsii the. Feil do want it kpee vnliig begin nad on a btaou lbiud igndo lluf u!yo uoy timnucomy heatwerv olang aeidm oyu uvoey' cna caueesb ruyo lla otgllayapelico acosli eben nhueitcta. .
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Us hatt amsll tlle srtore hisw 'ehds ayw lfet rpetapd olcud i ubota owtn yare hes aveh iefl and adderem 71 ni so old go hte we hse iwhle kcba. .
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I yuo vloe. Ma tuglefra os i uoy rof. Pu yuo vnere egav. Yuo nphsugi etkp. Rviuevds dna a orsty ot olny wsoe shiunoe ti efsehlr yuo rea orie,rhlb oyu cusssce stih emso hwo. So ssa heavrewt do cmuh ee'rw reeh we 'reew ti on iggon rmfo to ggino ,otu to dna kikc jneyo. As ntapeit eb on lliw we dan of neonctreu the ew nda fivgrnigo wya indk, als,wya ethos. .
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Lo,ev.
Go ail ial own) e(w yb.

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