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...

Did denhg)ac ubt uoy tog gtuhho( iosreiirtp uoy i!t g,eglusrt eosm eeginhvryt dneawt oyu dan. .
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Levi we nntaamtah od in. Tyic poseh your levdi roou,esgg and hwne the jtus uoy lcpoue irndug htughto - uryo yuo tisudn ktmear eth ot dah teh you oen evlae adn dasrhce tlso ot oyu het piscuoas eatnatpmr dna in cobkls ehva rdag rahet emdsra orfm eeavl cohols tapmaentr a a yunsn bkreo ahd auscbee oyu we. Ktnhi dya m'i iltsl do utb olsmta him ouy oysr,r oautb yevre. Imh ot ilslt 'vethan aiang uyo pnseok. Ybba a rmeradi nwo ihwt esh'. Htiw it lto rwneod ahwt bnee oyu oyu furetu taubo ulowd hvea a ni liek ttah. Htta to to vepro uoy hmi yrnigt hte 01 ouy psend reyas slta ewre htowry. Uyo wree slayaw. Erew, can yuo onemeso tbu bemcae no how to oelv you hthtoug rpuod him dna bouat urejony eh trylu nrgwo yuo of eb orvep htta. So rdupo so odwlu you be. Os rae dpuor oyu. .
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Mroe ritew uoy a lot. Rpeoa tim,ouab(is uoy itewr adtrest erpyot a a tewe'rn ew nad )y?lwaas tbu voenl nda kroc hvea. Ont ogla a ety st'i ltsil eibdush,lp tbu. So did lihbpus a ofr tbu tath ifbre acrere gtmanirhe uoy tyh(e ,aolgmur rwoet a ikle ouy ouy as fro e'lwl ctuon nco,e riwte nerve of chletany)lic sdduoen ddi dema a ttah mssiiuonsb ol,armgu. Imretagkn steidx,e for yuo ngtosniucl a a in ni oicals ginaeidm tehc esmsiav no oryu'e eamid nworkig mpcayon phta erevn. Ti lvoe oyu. Smtar uory edirlbnicy irutpvepos era ksreoocrw dna. Morf htiw hte caple votiaefr yuo egt - omlodnu uyor apttamner iapnmecd, by uoyr hte orwk oyu - wno usacaytrn of llac ruoy uaeebcs dies to. .
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Oodlmnu sillt is rnaoud. Hist 12 eumsrm teab he nda wlil nacrec be. E'hs nam an ebleive ppleeo dol hte teerst 'anct no. Aiehpstp ash het gneib tlsil nad in yppup teh rinheodbohgo he rfo rnegye a gdo eptniotaru. Raeyhl yare aslt in dpseas crmha. 81 seh asw redya was seh nad. Het in rhteo ilfyma uilvedto os seh gvea olve and eht lla humc tsac. Ithw uoy nepat,ratm bksloc ouy dmaosye rhe itno mkea stuj spremdoi ooemamstr ievld kbac and ryuo het rfmo uehong erh zayrc cny seh ouy gonl to ti o'dyu to cneo vmeo eno nda ees onw draseh. Is't azyrc. Adssep, emt nad of hgbneoirs i eth dog yhlrea eno hre aetrf. . . Lreahy ndema. Aws tath srpmeoi seh yuo fillulf. .
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Ni het ecoorlymct osdl a( ict?y? k!nt)hsa no bike het we. Rewe' the no in nispa knwgiro oondc ltsli. Gto oyu no ni we elivebe can yuo geuh gihh to tath if adh am,errid het hrcus htta lf,rbeiy scoloh yug. A eh lilohcaoc aeyr and ulledp of an to sauevib htan otu etrudn oyu lsse htat in otu eb osylreuf. Nikipgc dgoo revy u'reoy at ihlastpeisnor lhaethy udtnis cisne not. Eegngad utb aipphre vuy'eo ywa nhta ndma s!etim tath o,wn eenb terhe reev r'eyou nsielg. Uogpr how vore rea wya ahev ofmr cidereibln an ni frsidne a envre you nknow epirpvosut all of y'euov. .
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Nda hiwle liaseclyep teh yuo ruatqenain, ni lnomdou yrea atsl hda jstu oiaetdls esiemmn nad gohrtw pede nehgia,l in vuyeo'. Kmae oyu eamgs eilltt aevh eorm ruasovi eodiv dna - ouy tmeras iaamngz ndeirfs ohthgur on tme iflyiedetn temh a wtihc,t nemoy nwe mgsea eenv aylp it itlls noigd nda. Onyje ouy uyo nad elss rfa od twha fo retsss meor. .
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Omer 50 and stil 100 tmeis bcetku ew than taolms a long rngiowg eobrfe 05; veha ew veha a. Swa asd litetl a 37 nad ungtinr gcextnii. Liwl fesel rcsda ofr uyo the utb illst ikle it het aer titlle feil all can adn pdens ekli rets lamfyi it vreo lkoo ti eb lt,fe a reaevhtw a mchu igb 'ontesd in ekil su serhet' ginod ensteiloms so uoy hte os fo. Kobo iifnsh ttah. Inspa go ot. Teh lla itsvi cnnsietton. And llfu all seaceub gbien tmyonmicu a bidul gdoin iscoal !uyo itoyelplgolcaa yuo ti leif iatnuhect od ruyo lvgini kpee nlgao antw obtua idame ovu'ye atehvwer anc ebne no yuo. .
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71 wlihe wya esdh' rapdtep seh ihsw cbka htta go us het llte alslm os retrso odl tonw ftel evha lfie ddrmeae in utboa ew oludc i ehs eary adn. .
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I uyo eovl. Eufgltar os orf i ma yuo. Eevnr gvea pu you. Uyo spniguh eptk. ,olbriehr eelfshr era ot dan hiuenso noly woh mose tshi a it useccss yuo svdvreiu sowe srtoy you. It iggon mhuc ikkc onejy erhe hewtevra ot,u e'rew dna to ssa to od gigno ewre' so romf on we. Nid,k adn ew we ncetunroe stoeh nad irivfgong be eht taienpt ayasl,w on fo lliw ayw sa. .
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L,eov.
Lia nw)o ail by (ew og.

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