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...

Gtrivenyhe agdc)hne did meso sg,tlgreu oyu t!i otg adnewt ohut(gh but you adn resiriiotp ouy. .
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Ew hamnaatnt od ievl ni. - synun het you eealv dievl mtreka teh oslhoc nitusd dan teh uoy cedahrs adn ew uolcpe hgthuto a paaetmnrt ot dha utjs in ticy uoy eth had peosh kobre uyo nda anrtmteap irgudn okbslc a rfom ahev oruy yuo argd mserad ehart noe ot ou,gorges elave nweh yoru cubsaee otsl ciosuspa. Ervey imh rsro,y uoy llsit mlatso tkinh od ubt taoub ayd im'. Ot uoy ea'vnth mih ngaai lltis sokpen. Rimaerd 'seh twhi baby a won. Ni twih oyu klie it ttha taobu htaw you a eowndr nebe ahev tuerfu dulow tlo. To you 10 tsla npdes hrywto you nigryt to ewer mhi thta ropev hte saeyr. Wree oyu ylawas. Cmaeeb eovl utoab hutthgo utb you durop nrowg rwe,e tath ot nda can owh eh of prevo ouy yorunej utlry mhi no eemonso eb oyu. Ordup so os duowl you be. Uoy uodrp rae os. .
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Ertiw lto emro ouy a. A eoarp a dna eahv utb ptroey uoy lnoev we edatstr ,(itmibsuao nad tnr'eew yw?)alsa cokr wrtei. Ont ist' is,dbephul tey oalg a utb iltls. Oyu sa a aemd kile rotwe sisoiubnms a ontcu eenvr hatt nesdduo hiuspbl a os ecrrea atht htnlcil)aeyc yuo oarulmg, uog,lram erbfi tyh(e ddi ocn,e ddi of ofr but rfo werti lwle' ntgmaierh ouy. Nigeamid oyu for cosnutnlgi deima nkwgiro ni a stxe,ide etch no enrve in neagkimtr ahpt osilca 'oreuy namcyop svaesmi a. Elvo ti ouy. Ramts oryu nrldbiyiec ripupvesto dna rrwceokso ear. The - romf yoru rwko ot uoy het cap,miend llac tmaeantpr tge toeirvfa ueasbec ouy idse wtih uyor won claep fo yb uyro - cynsaarut noulmod. .
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Sltil nomdluo dnruoa si. Lwil mmrues recacn eh dan eb hsit 21 tabe. Nam esh' olpepe na bvleiee odl ct'an eth on restte. Eht a ibnge ehodrnbohgoi pupyp odg has fro hte itntruaeop aepishtp istll in he yerneg nda. Elyarh in charm salt arey sspead. 81 swa seh wsa yrdae hes dna. Ni eovl dna lla lfmaiy het leudtivo so vgae ctas hse eth heotr mhcu. Hwti tjsu arczy somamtoer vome noe eocn and noti deoayms rhe ackb ti ouy onw ou'yd ees rntepama,t to vilde ot eht ync ngol erhsad kmae uoy eugnoh uyo your hre slkobc frmo sioemdrp seh dna. T'is zaycr. Etm i hrlyea dgo bioerhgns ratef one reh nad fo het ss,edpa. . . Medna hlyare. Epirsmo htat lfiufll uoy swa hes. .
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On a( teh ew beki ht!n)aks ni i??cyt dosl hte cyloctmeor. Grkinwo wr'ee slilt eth oocnd napsi in no. Anc no ttha uoy ni dah b,rfyeli to gihh ehgu we yuo het lohosc fi rchus guy otg rdarme,i lvbieee ttah. Hant to fslueroy nurted a otu less an raey you eh eb ldulpe of nda hatt siuaevb lolchiaco out in. Otn iriestpalnsoh odog dsunit cpkiing at ytlaehh yevr euor'y cseni. Awy tbu ngdeage o,wn ielsng eetrh eerv oyv'ue emits! atht than ruoye' amdn been aihrepp. Who nreev firnsed nonkw fo ofmr irlncdbiee lal yuo vhae na ear a rveo e'ovuy evirpopust ni way ogurp. .
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Eyra tjsu salt dha adn ni hgwtor ni iwhel ae,gnlih 'ouvye dmoouln hte ellsyaeipc oyu neeimsm qtane,urnia desiotla edpe nad. It ghouthr detinlefiy enw lilts hmet dna nad nodgi esgam a mreo veen veah mte idveo arvosui tellti msgea on gmzaian ylpa arstme oyu dfinres make yeomn you tc,wiht -. Fra uoy hatw oyjne ssestr of nda omre do sles uoy. .
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5;0 nolg ebrofe eavh a oggirwn 010 we 05 ltsi ew adn a ctukbe evah nhat more tmies lamost. Dna guntirn asw 73 ads cixngtei tiltle a. It despn leki lal os fro acn of be erov it dngoi hcmu oklo lt,fe uoy iefl eiltlt aer wetaevrh igb dna ster teh arcsd a the wlil in os stelnsoiem tbu litsl teshre' faimyl elki elik us 'dotsne it the yuo a lfese. Hatt obko fihnis. Apnis to go. The lla itsvi octtsinnne. Lal ouy tbuoa vlingi gbnei averhwte !you adn pkee aclsoi you ucabsee eenb ti dmaei olang wtan voe'uy ulbid eatpgliallyooc no nac ouyr lulf od lefi a iondg enutiatch cmiotymnu. .
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Su we hwsi ucdlo and eeamrdd ayw llsma ehva flte ertros she eht wlhie hse ckab twon padrtpe htta ellt go fiel so i edhs' dol 71 ryae in touba. .
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Oyu i elov. Yuo rtefluga i so am for. Evga up rvnee uoy. Gshipun ouy pket. Rytso oyu ti you msoe usoehin ,oeilrrbh lnyo ohw a sscuecs hserefl aer ot adn weos viusvdre htsi. Ass on mhcu niggo ot os gngio and od erwe' we here to eonyj ewer' arhtweev otu, kcik it orfm. Ilwl noiifggrv sa nretnecuo awy het teaitnp we on oseth wyala,s of we nk,di nad be dan. .
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,oevl.
Yb (ew ila o)nw ail go.

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