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...

Ghane)cd osem ge,grults did oyu isroreiipt (guhtoh tbu ogt ouy gtyrievehn uyo dna tndaew t!i. .
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Od ni ew lvie hanntmtaa. Mrfo oen eht nidurg had uindst ot dha ecupol ltso uyo het hhguott hater ramesd uoy elvea uosapisc oyu a oyu yoru yuo bacseue utsj and elvdi nad we egsgou,or a amretk aatpemrtn gdra eht when locohs kblsco yitc aatnmerpt opesh ni edcrhas oyru - nnsuy to lveae teh aveh erbok nad. Ouy s,oryr oabut tmoasl ubt yda yerev tsill do him im' thnki. Poksen ouy hte'nva to giana imh tisll. Own a hwit dirarme bayb she'. Olt ielk woendr oyu ouy ttah nbee a iwth dowlu uatbo ertfuu evah it in thwa. Ot rvpoe ot ewre yhtrow hte tath oyu mih rntiyg 01 lats aresy nepds uyo. Ywasal ewre uyo. Wre,e taht mih utb semooen poevr nwgro ot how tbaou eb loev on udrop nca aebcem of he hotugth nuyeojr uoy uytlr uoy uyo adn. Be you os dupor udwol so. Uoy rea uropd so. .
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Roem tol ouy itwre a. Irwte nda peorty uoy reten'w rtdstae a raope heva nda utb vnoel ew kocr a ysalw)a? io(musbt,ai. Eyt pbehisd,lu ont tub is't a alog itlls. Sbhpliu of wriet so ouy rtowe bssiniuosm udsonde ibfre uoctn uoamrgl, idd oyu sa thta a )yalnechltic venre yhte( ihtmagren rracee a tub a ogra,ulm c,one did eilk yuo rfo e'llw orf aemd hatt. Ni athp vneer manidieg uoy ni csoial admei nkatmireg a seied,tx viasmes pcmayon knwgroi htce a on yeour' gcltinsnuo ofr. Oyu ti elov. Mtsra oryu ineibcyrld rea nda kerrowsoc prpeovuist. P,maindce gte atfverio ruoy ot - - uoy own oloudnm of korw sdie yb ryou earmtatpn utcyarans alcpe mfor lcal ouy sbeucae hte het ruyo twhi. .
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Litsl si olmduon naodur. He eb muesmr 12 lilw ccaern and tbea htis. An eeilbve dol s'eh man on stetre eht elpepo ta'cn. Ahs in puppy nad eneyrg a tills ofr eht ngoiedobhrho ntepotuiar ngeib the dog eh ippeshat. Lsat psdaes eray mhrac ryheal ni. Seh aws 18 asw ayedr she dan. Ehrot the loev hucm vteuoidl all nda stca esh liamfy eth in geav os. Hre vemo rpoedism skcbol she see dhesra reh ntoi elidv uoy ouy uyo ,arttmpnae oen to ofrm make eaosrotmm hiwt and arzyc it dou'y ecno ncy oyur cbka ot ngouhe just dna lgno oesydma onw eht. Sit' zycar. Eht farte ehlrya tem god rhe ,sespda one nda heoibnsrg i fo. . . Ehlyra adnem. Hatt iffulll ehs pimrseo you was. .
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Cyt?i? in on ew nthksa!) dslo hte ceyctlrmoo (a het ikeb. Istll no ansip ewe'r ondco the ni rgkniwo. Thta in uoy dah cuhrs beeeilv cna gyu mae,irdr we ihgh ohcosl heug on ,belfiry eth ahtt to fi you tog. He out ntha fo a epldlu na uto in cllicooah nda bevsuia drtneu to ryae eb uyo sels slurfeoy htta. Uyreo' tlaheyh ta nsudit not rvey hplsintairsoe ipkcgin good nesic. Hatt etrhe lngsei o,wn htna 'eyvuo eprhpia ime!ts dnma ever ueoyr' neeb wya gnedeag tbu. Fo routiepsvp rdfinse owh ev'you mofr prugo all yuo never eorv hvae nlcderiibe way nwkon an ni a era. .
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Ni had inahlg,e reay mndolou lsta uyv'eo ni enqauri,atn seimemn tusj nad eedp adn elwhi teh rwthog you pesyllicea slaoiedt. You it kaem t,tchwi nda oyu - ianamgz on emt etielfiynd siaruvo teltil ermats noidg adn veido isderfn siltl gemas plya enev emro a wen ahev oughrth mgsea emth ymneo. Neyoj lsse fo od srsset erom ouy hatw yuo adn raf. .
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Iemst ahve ermo a gigwnor aehv teukbc lgno we olmsat nda list ahtn a fbroee 50; ew 50 001. Wsa icegtinx ielttl a tnrguin 73 dan asd. Gbi asrdc lwil fro litsl lfie s'rheet utb myialf iltlet uyo a os keil notsd'e emtseiolsn nca os eb leik the gondi eht all sret veor su ikel eht in it psden arehvtew ear ti a lkoo of uyo lesfe umhc nda ,ltef it. Koob ttah hnsiif. Pansi ot og. All nonntitecs tiivs het. Nlago file epke a haneicutt yuo ntwa inbeg twearevh cuoinmmyt yuo iamde outba cna yu'evo eenb iulbd and ngdio uoy! aiocls it lla on ueescba do lnigvi uyro gclioelylpatoa lflu. .
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Dol nda evah es'hd hes taht llet lief rdpepat ftel orters ni eth ryea outba mllas kcba whsi esh su hlwei otnw ddamree wya os og ew loduc 71 i. .
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Oevl i oyu. Ltgrfuea rof am so i uoy. Up yuo agve enver. Hgsuinp yuo kept. Uyo stryo a sivdreuv owh lnoy euoshni dan ssuccse ear shit mose ot ti lehefrs leihob,rr woes yuo. Ti ssa tuo, reeh ikck nigog ot hvewrate adn romf 'reew ew hcum od os nggoi nejoy ot 'wree on. On yaw eb sa dna aalsy,w adn fo atnitpe illw sheto hte ew ew vggoiinrf dkni, ectourenn. .
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Olv,e.
Og ali yb )now ial e(w.

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