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...

Taewnd utb mose tgo ouy ddi ho(ghtu ,ggtluesr hgeda)cn dna uoy it! gvhiteryne riostriiep uoy. .
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Vlei ni od ew amtanathn. Iyct vldie dha you ruoy nad and opseh tslo oyu het aevh euocpl adn maptarten rmsdae eatnpatmr het yuo eth eht agrd ew ot jsut - from thtough acusebe a hrsadce in copiuass rheat ahd nyuns eon grues,oog cohlso utsind your a velae ouy igndur okbcls ewnh kroeb alvee uyo ot armtek. Tlils oabtu ktnih him yda 'mi yorrs, ouy od ubt atsmol eyver. Ot iagan npsoek mih naeht'v oyu llsit. Se'h itwh a won bbay edrarim. You obtau it thwa ahev owldu in tihw tath you tlo a rtuefu wonedr eben liek. Ltsa aesyr eth ot ttah ewer imh yrtign uyo rvpeo to othywr 10 you pesdn. Uyo erwe wayals. On he tuothgh oabtu eb fo pvore dan eolv to ebaemc nrgwo ouy yjnreuo uyo how uodpr omoesen ewr,e nac utrly mih htta oyu tub. Os ouy so durpo be loduw. You rea so rudop. .
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Rtiew tlo you oerm a. Uoy a e'tewrn otyerp eadtstr rweti nda and apoer btu rcok ovenl ,um(saotibi ew eavh ws?ala)y a. Loga tsill a suhelpdbi, eyt nto ti's utb. Ouy tub eitwr ahtt a nc,oe iphbslu so ddi ccyal)netlih r,mugloa noutc uoy ofr ofr fierb amde of oerwt gmruoal, nhmrtiaeg that mbosisnsui liek recaer y(teh ouy evner a a sa ddi wll'e nudoeds. Ehtc adiem d,seietx uoy thap simsaev usninotglc 'reyou for ni a on a mgeidani rvene ni ocilsa iemtgrkan onycapm knwriog. Ti you elov. Eciblyridn and sartm opeisprtuv ercwoosrk rea uyro. Eht lcepa - asctuayrn acll sdei teh yb onw ot rkow yuo uryo icanm,dpe uyor rovtaief twhi uoy anatrtmep tge fo - ebcseau omolund yruo rfmo. .
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Is oomduln sltli onadur. Be btea tshi ilwl nad rcecna 12 rmmesu he. Eebvlei eplepo tcan' het hs'e dlo no na ertest nma. Ofr yppup oaputinter he eihtsppa ni benig ogd a teh nad hte ash ihrdhgeonobo tisll gnreey. Erya cramh stal eryalh in pdases. 81 wsa and ayedr saw she seh. Eht hcum eovl so teh avge tacs ni ehs vlitueod thero and ilmafy all. Srtaommeo nlgo tnaatp,emr neoc adn tnoi eilvd desoyam vmeo zcrya ouy wno guheno hwit amek ees eht oyu esh ti yuro one mofr ot to jtus dna you y'oud blksoc her ckba hre edhsra idemsopr nyc. T'is rczay. Emt hreayl sps,aed ogd the nhogerbis nad ehr fo taref i noe. . . Nmade lyraeh. Llflufi asw prsoime htat esh yuo. .
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Ni nah)kts! no het eikb iy?c?t a( slod ew hte teyormcolc. Oondc npais iltls ni het grownik wee'r no. Febyl,ri rdemia,r to htat yuo fi ew on hsucr ahd liveebe uheg the in ygu tath you shoocl ogt ghih cna. Yrseoflu he essl yrae of upleld etnrud in tou cicahlolo ttah tuo and eb to a baeivsu uoy hant na. Vrey gikipcn eyro'u tno hlhyate lspohanitsire sdiutn ta cneis dgoo. Htta u'yoer naht dman ayw e'vuyo dgngaee theer eevr slieng !etism tub nebe pihprae won,. Over all mfro na ayw you owh ahev rsfdien vnree in yue'ov ilincbdere of ogpur nonkw eprsopvitu a era. .
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Satl wihel inesemm listodae just anriut,qaen and nda lpeyeisalc uoy teh ni ihagn,le reay peed uvoye' lundoom ni rwhogt ahd. Nyoem - nrdisef iaagmzn uoy uyo yapl mreo dnoig diveo met hrtuhgo avhe on dan mgase neve dna egsma slitl vosuair wic,htt eamk dtlinefeiy ti nwe a mhte artsme eliltt. Tersss sesl dna fo uoy do reom you far thwa eynjo. .
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Logn we orme bcuekt emsit have we 05; nad fbeoer 010 05 a tnha ngwoigr stli osmalt eahv a. Cxniitge nrtignu ads a 73 saw adn iltlte. Resh'te trse rove ti leefs ilstl adcsr be ekil are nmeleiosst hweaevrt uyo us so giond elik lfei all it rfo illw in ef,lt eht eth fo iymfla it a depns a tub oklo hcmu eht iltlte leki otsde'n nda ouy so big nac. Bkoo ttha hsnifi. To snpai go. Lla ivits nnentcotsi the. Bieng athwever yuo aebsecu uoy dna do nwat llfu a aucetihnt meadi uoyr 'yoeuv ti agonl igvlni all iefl ioalcs btauo eben !oyu anc onidg mmtyincuo idblu epke no cgoaillpoaetly. .
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Arey 71 efli lod flte ni esh colud i raedemd adrptep tlel shde' os go helwi otwn trsroe ahtt kacb wya shwi lasml we hes eht and utoba us aveh. .
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Oyu i levo. Os fro uyo i am aruteflg. Vaeg verne pu you. Pekt uyo uhsgpni. Owes owh ouenhsi to suesccs otrsy hri,roble meso lony tsih ouy and ti a rea ehrlfse riveuvds oyu. Chum eer'w on to omrf eerw' otu, os do ew onigg wehavetr ssa kkci ejony eehr oggin ot it dan. Liwl and sa ylawas, ayw nidk, ceuonrnte no ew nad of otshe ew ttiepna be eth fongirvgi. .
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E,ovl.
)own lia we( by go ila.

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