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...

Oirpitiers some grynvheiet gto dan dna)eghc yuo oguht(h i!t gsrgleut, ddi btu you wndeta oyu. .
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In vlei hatamtnan od we. Ehspo ot ofrm teh a hnwe yuo ekbor dna adh a eth erhat nistdu uoy ksolcb ujts clopeu ltos ahd in ysunn ceeabus teh etnaaprtm - you agdr we eacsrhd you icty osholc yuro eon lveea oor,gegsu ottuhhg oicusspa uyo het mtekar mraeatptn mderas nda ot vaeh evlea ledvi dan rdunig oyur. Ereyv btuoa hmi nhikt tub uyo yda rory,s 'im od toaslm tlisl. Uyo nagai him 'naveht pnkoes tills ot. A bayb now ithw eh's raemrdi. Eenb uoy yuo tahw ttha it iekl veha outba in a uetruf lot tihw uwodl roedwn. Eth gntriy uyo uoy porve atht 01 ot mhi sdnep to owrtyh seray atls weer. Asylaw yuo ewer. Oupdr htat oyu tub adn buaot ot rluyt olev of noemseo yoenjur nac no emecab uoy be gonrw rwee, ohhutgt mih he oevpr oyu owh. Os dopru eb yuo os uowdl. Ouy so upord aer. .
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A lto terwi yuo moer. And we wsay?la) a rweit nad oyu ckor rypeto areop tr'nwee omi,atb(siu ubt aehv ovnle a esttrad. Its' galo ltsil nto tey btu a hedbpsiul,. Uoy ttha rmluo,ga of kile aceerr uctno oulgrm,a enver ihslbup so ty(he taht etwro a eudsodn as idd rweti mdea tehcian)lylc n,oec rfo efrib irthenmag e'lwl fro you a ddi ouy a but nbouissmis. Yuo aoypcnm maide ni in nistgcluon igoknwr no vrene agkrtimen lcioas a ceth euo'yr mniegaid a athp tesxdi,e ssmeaiv orf. Leov yuo ti. Aer uyro nad biednlciyr mstra ookwcrres eorsputpiv. Usntacrya yb ot etg penad,icm llca own teh orkw romf you etafiovr ouyr ryou elapc fo - edsi ryou mteapntra het ouy - cuaebes nloomdu hiwt. .
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Omdnlou ournda is isllt. Beta 12 adn eh acecrn eb tish uemmsr lwil. Tstree h'se no het ldo man oeeppl eeivelb na a'nct. In ehghnboroodi ingbe eh teh puppy ropueiatnt dan stlil dgo a ahs eth erengy atepspih fro. Ltas psdsae rahcm ehrlya ni ryea. Esh swa 81 radey ehs dna saw. Teh eth all nad uhcm ni tsca vage so olev fmiyal toluevdi seh hrtoe. Ouyd' uoy oecn yuo pimsrode ilvde to kaem ese nyc bakc oslckb yuor dan ehr the ouy ot it seh gnlo dshare hiwt emtr,anapt eomv now nohegu reh stuj eno ryzca mofr adn ramosmtoe meosyda toni. Cyrza is't. Eno aetfr hre nda hlraey sad,spe hte etm dog i nehrsigbo fo. . . Emnad yalrhe. Esh was yuo lulffli ahtt ipesmro. .
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Ty?c?i in teh !tn)khas teh sdol bike ryeoccmolt (a on we. In stlil teh psani no docon we're kgonirw. Eht htta anc adh ielebve uyg no ye,fribl colhso ew ogt if hhig uoy you htat rusch rad,emir ugeh to in. Nath out ni coacllohi eunrtd sesl atht a to soyrfeul arey out na eb eh fo epulld dan vsaiube oyu. Itroealssinph isenc nicgkpi yhhelta yerv ou'rye at ont ogod tiduns. Atth deeangg hppiare ayw eslngi heter o,wn dman imte!s eyruo' ye'ovu anth tub ebne evre. Ohw have gporu ayw evor rpiteuosvp enver na elnrbiiecd all rnifsde form nnkwo oeuv'y a in oyu rea of. .
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Sjtu piyllsecea dpee aelign,h and adn ni sdeiolat ghwtro eary hte traue,nnaqi lats hlwei ni y'euov noodmlu dha siemmen oyu. Esamrt nda - no ieltlt smeag orem felitinyed oymne drenfsi veen pyla uoy evha tme emth donig maek ieovd egasm yuo wc,htit tourhgh new dna miazgna uovisar isltl a ti. Awth erom jnoey od sestsr of arf uoy nda esls uoy. .
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Hvea tlsi tanh nirggow ukebtc a matlos 0;5 05 emor we nda 100 beeofr meits logn we a vhea. 73 a aws and tnicxgie unrintg tlietl asd. Ti eb of so ekli niodg look ofr hucm os llwi lmiafy all nda tilsl are us omsnieestl keli lkei teiltl o'etsdn eth teh acrsd edsnp bgi flsee ster ni it erov ti fiel rtwavehe eeth'sr het utb yuo a ,flte ouy a anc. Atht ookb nfiihs. To og pnias. Hte visit citoennnts lal. Your no bnee toaub ouy !yuo yovue' ttenuahci nalgo all ilbud catlgaepyloilo uoy nca a feli nawt iegnb ti dna iodng isoalc llfu hwtareve diema ilgvin cytmunmio cbeaseu do kepe. .
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Haev lwhie outba dlo bcka hse eltl rortes uldoc ntow whis telf flie in adn ehs amsll os go hte wya drmeead praedtp 17 i hds'e we that su raye. .
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Eovl you i. I aguletrf os am for uoy. Evner ouy pu eagv. Uyo gpnsuhi tpek. ,iebolhrr smeo lyon to owse tsih cessucs era ti who otysr ehinsuo oyu you a vevsuidr dan heflser. Gngio we nyeoj ,out so 'erwe weer' umch going hree ass do omfr ot to and kikc it no ehtewrva. We ilwl we eiaptnt no ws,aayl of yaw eb nigvfriog and i,knd dan ounecnret soeth the sa. .
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Ve,ol.
Go )won ew( yb ail ila.

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