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...

Etandw you dna ietyhnverg yuo you orteiirpsi (thuogh eoms did got tgsrlge,u ehcdagn) !ti but. .
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Do lvie we in tnahtnmaa. We a noe csedahr a to dha velae raketm shcolo grda aeecsub you uyro wenh from veale uyro het sspaciuo edrsam teh to evdil tsju adn slot rnigdu okerb yitc oougg,res adn utisnd ouy pohse adn in nysnu rtnteapma oyu tnatamepr uyo - heav epluco kclsob dah etarh eht hte oyu uhghtot. Ltsil uatbo inthk utb do ory,sr dya you rveye taloms mi' mih. To uyo lslti niaga hmi han'tve kpenos. Eramrdi aybb a itwh onw hse'. Enbe lowud olt lkei a you ufetur it ubota aveh hatt tiwh hwta uoy in edworn. Pevor uyo ot ewre 01 ysear espdn mhi rygtni atht het ot uoy atls tyrhwo. Erew uyo yswaal. Of eb nca oyu he velo rtluy ervpo taobu jnryuoe yuo imh htta dpuro cebema utb eneosom owh to erew, yuo no oghutht wgnro and. Os duorp be owdlu uyo so. Os aer you drpuo. .
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Uoy remo reitw a otl. Adn eapor velon ?ysalwa) we a rotyep tewn'er trwei a dna s(tmu,iaoib utb have yuo tdsreat rkco. Ldib,spuhe a yet algo tno sit' but isltl. Dueodns maed rmoglu,a octun tweor eerrac lubsihp idd os ty(eh n,coe twier a gmtehainr uoy oyu tath gmr,auol a ofr liek a lelw' btu idd evnre ttha oyu aicthlly)nec ofr of ssbmisiuon erfbi as. Damei fro aiocsl a savsiem in nomcpya nutilonscg iaigdmen ernve no a tehc eo'uyr dtse,xie geatmkirn orgkwin oyu htap ni. Ouy ti leov. Oyru skcweroro privptesuo era and sratm irclednbyi. Teg rokw of omrf ,pndmcaei uyor now rapmattne yuro uyor plcae by to virfoeat lcal - utsarncay yuo oyu iwth hte acebuse teh - mloondu dise. .
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Unodar dolunmo ilstl is. Srmume aenrcc illw teab 21 htsi be dna eh. Teh 'tnca nma tertes odl pploee evlibee na no 'hse. Hroognhiebdo gdo yernge rof gebni litls hte adn hsa ni a ourtienapt teh he epaptsih pyppu. Ltsa ayer hmcar dsaspe in herlya. Esh was ehs ryead 81 dna wsa. Oletvdiu the in hte lal yflmia cumh adn so hes asct thero evlo geva. Ihwt oury uyo ometramso yuo oeguhn uoy cny eno it gonl od'uy herdsa rofm sujt eht toin and vilde dna ot amke lcskob imerpsod seh t,menarpat reh rhe to bkac ese dsamyoe enoc vome wno racyz. Zyarc s'it. Of the i padse,s soegihbnr lreyha dna arfet gdo noe reh etm. . . Hyealr mdaen. Ermipso hes ouy htta wsa luifllf. .
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Y?itc? eht a( sdol no iekb mcrcyoetlo we na!h)tks ni eht. Tsill aspin odcno hte ni on wkorgni eew'r. Htta that lbrf,iey no gehu in lbeviee ot uoy eth guy ouy urshc if daeirrm, ahd cna gto ew shoclo gihh. Of uto etndur be nad a yare thta tuo in nhat sles hloalicoc an aiusebv yuo to pludel yoruelfs he. Odgo at nto tlhheya rvye essnairtloiph ndistu iingckp ryoue' icnse. Ntha mnda vuo'ye pahripe htat etm!si reteh nbee nwo, wya utb lnegis oyru'e vere geedgna. Sridefn yuo ehva who a rae ni ofrm never 'evuoy rcbndielei way kwnon oevr of iosuvtpper lla opurg an. .
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Neismme cayellpsei elhiw htgwro ,lagneih lsta ahd etaildso eht in dna ni sujt ateiunnq,ra edpe nda raye ouomldn ouy 'eyuvo. Izngaam vene hghuort emt ynome ti aehv enw mesga paly ieovd temras hemt nigod you ltltei on a and ftneideliy emak nda gsema oyu - ltlis efrsdin uoavirs roem tihwtc,. Of eynoj uoy arf dna ahwt sles ouy do oemr sstser. .
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Ringwgo a rmeo ltsi osalmt ektubc aehv 05 dna 001 rbeefo we thna a ;50 aveh glon emtsi ew. Sda leitlt gtienixc and a asw 37 ntnugir. So litls ti ielltt 'sntdeo btu a you orf ilke us flei ni oesnmtleis fo olko vore it ear all het mliyaf sh'rete illw racds ekli pesdn ti lesef nad eb aehervwt le,ft yuo hte gbi ilke chum a het iongd nca erts os. Insfih kobo thta. Sainp og to. Hte tnsoeitcnn vsiti all. Lsiaco naogl eebcsau a erwhtave it ifle btuao contuymim nda lal ulfl inogd taceintuh you vgiiln miaed anc no tanw enbe igbne oolielgalpacyt do bilud ekep o'uyve uyo! oryu oyu. .
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That ownt sdh'e kbac iwhs i esh seh eflt ayw aevh erdamed go in patredp we raye os ubota loudc old and teh lefi us 17 lelt whlie retros slmla. .
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Ovle yuo i. Orf i tulragfe os am oyu. Pu yuo evnre vega. Oyu pket nhspgui. Yuo lerhefs a owh oyu weso lnyo era ihst cuscsse and sotyr sivedvru mose hir,orlbe ioesnuh ti to. Ut,o kcik ass ojyen wr'ee do cmhu on wre'e os ot ew erhe ot ewtraevh ofrm nda ngogi ngogi it. Sa het nda be ew awy idnk, ilwl ivgognifr no fo adn a,aylsw enuorcnte we steoh eaptint. .
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Ve,lo.
Ial by go ow)n ali e(w.

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