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...

Tndwea and mose yghnevteir ouy got ouy !it esulr,gtg ddi tub chg)dnea ugo(hth oieptsirri uyo. .
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Ni ew do levi maatnathn. Eht to siuoaspc orfm the ditsnu coolhs mepntarta robek a aeseucb one uoy nmtrptaea hda icty a dgar adh rmsdea stuj adn veael eathr uyor nad uyo ouy goesr,uog gnruid bkolsc ehva ruyo hte - snynu to dcrsahe eht in ouy ucople we ehwn soeph nda amketr uhhottg veild aleev tlso oyu. Slotma vreye 'im boaut tllsi mih ayd yrors, od ubt intkh you. Ihm uyo itlsl ot igana poksen 'thvena. Abyb s'eh iwht earrimd now a. Been uwdlo a ti elik in orewnd atth yuo olt heav outab what you ufurte htiw. Tsal rwhyot 10 ot prevo that mhi sdpen ouy eyasr ewre rniytg ouy ot het. Eerw ywsaal you. Lytur how uyo atobu ebacem ewre, tguothh he eb fo ihm veopr hatt can ouy nwgor yuo utb on dan to rdpuo oelv noseemo ynjuroe. Eb dluwo os prudo ouy os. Uyo so produ ear. .
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A tlo uoy wreti rmeo. Ahve a(ismb,outi you a netrew' ckro and oevnl a we nad poare ys?wl)aa tweri yertop adterst ubt. Ton sltli gloa eyt u,libpdehs a t'is tbu. Ddi ,oecn so fo bierf rcerae as a nerve uoy a for orf a oretw aemd but a,urlomg did ctuno hicyeclnat)l ouy wl'le atht dondues mu,olgar bssmsiniou ameirhgnt eyht( atth lkei uyo wiert lbisuph. A media ,setxdei uoy gtnnclsiuo ofr a gonwirk in tech athp ycpnoam ernev no mssviea in agmdinie lasico iekgtmarn ueyro'. Lveo it uyo. Royu peutsvirpo esorwckor rae starm dbrniciely and. The to - elpca dsei yb royu tge uyor llca vfeortai from rtpnteama acbuees htiw ani,pedmc hte odomlnu - yuo sacnyatru wno oyru ouy kwor of. .
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Lslti danuor is dloonum. Tshi baet 12 will ncaerc eb rsmemu he dna. Nam c'nat dlo het leeebvi eppeol an seh' no etestr. Hsa ppetihsa het tnaetipruo nda ni bnieg rgneey a ppupy he dgo rnhhoeogobid tlils for eth. Arhmc lheyra ayer lats in epsdas. Esh hse and asw ryaed 81 saw. Gaev hoter in hte cumh falymi atsc nad het all so levo seh luidoetv. Eon itwh oemv hoguen adn ncy ti to ouy yuor t,rmnpatea uyo kacb mofr yodu' utsj dna to dresha sredmipo rsetmaomo rhe ese cnoe own ilved nlgo coblsk ryzac uoy the hes hre oitn mkae dmsoyae. Czayr 'sit. I dp,ssae god haleyr noe tem fo rhe nda aterf birngoseh hte. . . Anmed yrheal. Posierm you swa esh thta ffiulll. .
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!tashk)n dlso we the hte in tyic?? otcerlmoyc (a no beik. Kiognrw ndoco no psian e'ewr sillt het ni. Oyu ni yug huge got we oloshc eeievlb hda rchsu no ot the ,eiryblf anc you atht if rmd,eria high htat. And upllde a vbesaiu athn yuo to ohilloacc in slse eyufsolr be tuo taht an utdrne he tuo of ayre. Yrev asnhsltoierpi pkginic isnutd ton dgoo scnei elhhtay 'erouy at. ,own nmda prephai hatt ligens enbe but 'erouy ngeegad mtie!s eerv tnha teehr way e'uvyo. You a rnvee of mofr oyu've riuptveops owh gpour rfedins an nonkw rciinldebe lal in oevr eahv awy rea. .
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Het in in siteaodl yare elipelacsy hwile torhgw eitarunnqa, yoveu' edpe yuo ahd adn ienmsem astl dan gie,nhal usjt oludnmo. Niogd egmas you dan thuorgh nzamgai vahe vodei tmhe ltlite on a ht,cwit asiourv play rmoe idsrfne litideneyf eevn amke dan tme - esatrm yuo ilstl noyem wne aemgs it. Ssrest lses uyo what ouy rfa jyeno do dna emro of. .
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Gnol aveh beoref tkbcue ahev orem 05 ew tsli hnat we lsomta iorwngg 100 ;50 smtie adn a a. Nad dsa was a iietxgcn 73 rnnigtu ilttle. Lla eb ilke ear ti eovr f,tel eth 'dtnseo leik sednp uyo so weeratvh eth lwil ayfmil it iltls ni it cumh hr'sete big a crdsa ekli a ngiod us os yuo of sret nac dna lsnetismeo oklo litlte leif teh elfse but rfo. Book nfhiis htta. Anpsi ot og. Het tsivi tntseocnni all. Ginod lelyataolgcpoi eifl thcniaeut it uyo! galon anwt ignbe nivilg lbiud nebe uyo a ekep yoru treehvwa oyu on ouabt lluf lal nca eaecusb madie nmityucom and olacis 'vueyo od. .
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Oabtu ni 71 the ahev hisw datrpep bcak os ywa efil ahtt lcuod tefl hwlei i nda seh llte us rotser deemdra ed'hs ew dol nwto smlla ayer ehs go. .
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Uyo i oevl. Am os rfo uoy uflrgtea i. Renev up agev you. Tkpe you hnpisgu. A woh dna ehouisn to uoy hsrlefe uyo sewo ,irreolbh ylon rea ti smoe sivurvde scsuesc hsti tyros. E'ewr ewre' ti ngiog ofrm no sas to jnyoe os to evwhtrae umch od ikkc ew going nda heer t,uo. Aswyla, fo we nda no we teh irnfggvio as soteh nteitpa awy eb nikd, wlil rnoeetucn dna. .
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E,ovl.
Ew( ila by og ila nw)o.

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