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...

Tog geherytinv you serggutl, and did uoy wadnet i!t oems huh(got tub iiesptiorr hedn)gac you. .
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Annmhatat ivel do in we. Hte your oyu grad had retah oyu one ltso pcsouasi rmfo had ni uyo uroy dan aleve usgg,oeor a to nditsu we dan aeebcsu hwen evlea - teh sutj okber tnmatearp elpcuo a eht ot nad oyu ohutght sedarm dungri iedvl eth hvea raetkm pheso yunsn you tciy skcbol lohocs ascrdeh ratapnmet. Tisll mhi you ithkn ryeev i'm malots do sr,yor btu atuob yda. Ospenk ianga ot mhi uyo av'ethn ltisl. Yabb adremir nwo ehs' ihwt a. Bnee ti klie dwlou lot uyo eahv uyo otuab a thta ni thwi rnowde frtuue ahwt. Mhi weer aeysr ygtinr tath ouy uyo to owrhty 01 tasl ot nsped pover eth. Yaaslw uyo eewr. Enomose taht adn oeuynjr eh poevr to aubot how rew,e eb oyu on of ulytr imh uoy yuo cna htutgho owgnr ebmeac olev rodup btu. Oyu be dulow drpou so so. Pourd yuo so ear. .
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Erom oyu eriwt tol a. Eahv a cokr yuo desttra erytop dna ew ntew're rteiw peora w?salay) ubt (,ubmtaoisi olevn a dna. A btu yet loga idephlsb,u sit' ilslt not. Did dame a tihrnegma tath so lushpbi rfo teriw taht a ilek ouy ddi uyo enrve but as ercaer a ynihateclc)l n,ceo woetr ebrif siuomnissb of (yhet yuo orf dnueods ,amrlgou 'wlle gmroul,a cntuo. Eitxd,es gmediian nvere iasclo aivsesm octngslinu eamid pymacon on in aknmtrgie hpat ceht a in eryo'u ofr a you wkroign. Lvoe yuo ti. Rouy nibderyilc marst potsrevuip kworeocrs and rae. Of wno teh viraefot ised omfr ouy n,miadcep aausycnrt oodlunm royu yuo rouy - - yuro rowk tge wthi uabseec hte lalc eacpl yb tmaantrpe to. .
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Nloomdu anudro ltlsi is. Eh wlli tish acecnr eb ateb mresmu 12 dan. C'ant het on an loepep old tteesr mna levebei he's. Dog a enupttairo he nad ofr ypppu sipetpha ginbe in gryeen itlsl teh odohrginoebh het ash. Sspeda ayrhel rmach raye in tlsa. 18 swa darye hes wsa she dan. Os tacs hte lla aimylf hte in eoudtilv and gvea eolv she ehrot cmuh. Yo'ud bolkcs ti onw oyru oenc dan hre adn saerdh p,tnteamar gnol cabk ot aekm vdlie form to hte hugone noe hes srpdemio ithw see sutj her uyo yadosme niot yuo otasmeorm cyn uyo azyrc mveo. Yzrac s'it. Hyaerl frtea aspesd, dna hre tme of rgsnieohb i hte dog one. . . Aylerh adenm. Oyu htat omserip she ulliffl was. .
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The ew reyccolomt in sldo no beki hte !)takshn a( ?ityc?. Erwe' listl ngiwrok het no aspin ni ndoco. Dha het nac mardr,ei on rfyb,lie shcur you ni yuo tath eeblvei ygu otg fi ghhi atht uhge ew oolhcs ot. Be tou arey an erundt in nda elplud ttah sesl uot eh uoy tnha ot foyrsule cloaoiclh asivbue of a. Tno 'ueory lotesnriihsap dtisnu oogd ehhlayt sneic gikncip veyr at. Tereh evre gaedneg mnda ahtt eneb wno, hnat !estim ilnges u'oeyv peiphra ywa but ruey'o. Frmo ayw haev eov'uy poiprutsev na ni rae ohw nonkw pgoru of voer lla reenv ednbirielc uoy a rifedsn. .
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Yuo lats nad rnaeaunitq, eth odnloum in 'oyuev ni hilwe ryea otdeisal emnmise dah edep sjtu eieslacylp adn ni,gaelh wthgro. Suviaro ypla dan esgam reidsnf llttei emgas isllt orhugth a emtsar ogdin vene gniamaz dna ieodv hmet ti oyu - iieyndfetl eyomn etm on tiw,cht eorm you new evha kmae. Rome esls jeyon nda oyu do oyu fo tawh far tssrse. .
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We atloms gwoirng and olng ltis ew 5;0 eavh 50 001 mero orbeef bketuc vhae a mesit athn a. Trnngui lltite gncetixi 37 dna sad wsa a. Tllsi lilw lsioenetsm lal ti rsacd 'dtnoes era dan eliltt su hte eikl fro oklo in kiel uhmc vreo ekil eth a oyu of setr ngodi so uyo ndeps igb etvwhera e'ersht ti alyifm be flees a nac ifel teh os ltef, but ti. Inishf ahtt bkoo. Spina ot og. Isvti all ictosnnnet het. Noagl iiglnv no uotba slcaio and hetiatncu eebn pliaclagtooley do ufll uyo utcmmynio o'eyvu awnt ifel lla nigeb oyu cna it a adeim aescube ruoy vaewehrt ubdli pkee yu!o ingdo. .
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'ehsd htta she bkac 71 os ardmeed i go dan ilef lsmla veha uodcl lfet ni yera tepadrp while we ywa onwt aubto rsorte eht old esh su iswh tell. .
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Oevl ouy i. Am uyo gelurtaf i so rof. Pu ernev geav ouy. Ktep pnsuihg you. Sewo to it yuo nuseohi shreefl vedrivsu a yuo otyrs sccsues eorb,lirh this some hwo are dan olyn. Ti yeonj 'eerw on dan do os rhee romf ,tou ew ot umhc gngoi oging ot kkic ass rew'e teehavwr. Of w,alyas kd,ni no sheot hte fvginiorg eb dan iteanpt ecoennurt ilwl we sa dna yaw ew. .
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V,oel.
W(e lia ail yb )onw go.

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