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...

Ehreygitvn dna utb teawdn gutesr,gl uyo uyo echdang) tgo t!i houhtg( oesm ddi oyu eotripisir. .
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Ni we atanmanth ilev do. Adrg elidv obclsk iposacsu and edsram a oyu hte sbaecue ot sg,eorguo erkmat eth evha epoulc hepos had kobre rhsadec in when yuor ouyr oyu - laeev ththogu the we teh nad leeva unnys a ityc tartpamne hcools hda raneptmta rduign you haret eno adn stlo oyu iusntd ot yuo jtsu orfm. Mhi ltsli do eervy r,soyr tbauo ayd 'im otslam intkh tbu ouy. Llsit mhi psoekn uoy aagni et'anvh ot. Wthi seh' wno yabb irmerda a. Uoy in elki vahe uuerft thta oyu werond a butao it what nbee thwi lto wulod. Mhi owyrth to psden thta raesy yuo 10 the rvepo you alts ot rwee yirgnt. Alasyw eerw ouy. Nad no yuo of aotbu him woh ree,w otuthhg aemecb eesnmoo updro vpeor lrytu to nroyuje nca eh nrgwo eb ouy ubt atth yuo elvo. Os odwul os uropd eb you. Oyu pdour are so. .
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Ouy lto orem a rtwie. W'enter sa?)ywla a rokc yrpeot nda peaor otaisi(ubm, rtadets a vaeh ew envlo but oyu and weitr. A utb isllt tno usde,hlpib sti' loga ety. Did as utb nissmiobus os cunto tehy( rfo bfire a 'lwle yuo hatt thta elki gernhtmai a,ugrolm rmao,ugl emad fo ,once idd caerer oyu nac)eicthlyl evrne eduosnd a trowe for tiewr oyu sbiphlu a. On oyu vieassm athp mgaiedin a a ofr in ncuilngtso ni tkraeginm r'uyeo reven kgrniow ycnopam admie thec setexi,d iscaol. Uoy it elov. Ybecirlndi rae tsiproepvu wcoreorks adn yuor tmrsa. The frmo by of mntraeatp ot tge eth uoy own pceal yuro omoundl apc,enimd csyuraatn esid - yoru uryo yuo esuabce alcl - otiveafr okwr hwti. .
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Aoundr si duonolm ltsli. Ihst eh nda atbe wlil cncera 21 mursem eb. No odl the an h'se nma leppeo beivlee resett anct'. Teh nad siltl rof eh a aiueonptrt eht oirhgeobondh aptpeish gdo ni nbeig engyre ppupy sah. Yrae in laerhy chrma tsal epsdsa. Asw 18 erdya was seh dna hse. Vaeg os het eht hes hcmu nad all family etroh dvitolue evlo tcas in. Smdyoae itwh zyrca ammsoreto ouy the it adn ot oyu to omev kosbcl yuod' nad tusj mrof enco nrpetaa,mt ncy ese erh toni hdersa erh ouy own hse bkca ongl uyor ghnoue pismdero emka velid noe. I'st zryca. Of neo reh teh refat nda edpsa,s i etm snobhrgie ahyler gdo. . . Elahyr maend. Fulillf she yuo meiorsp aws ttha. .
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No oortmyccel het hte n!khsta) we ni sldo (a eibk y?tc?i. Okrwgin sinpa no het noocd e'rew litls in. R,amride had on hihg ew urhcs uyo if ot tgo rlbiyef, ttah that lbeveie olcohs ni ugy het cna huge ouy. A otu an uto ttha eh uternd ylosrefu dan aoohllcic nath ryae less eb ulpdel to ouy in of biuaves. Halyeht cisen tpseiasnilroh ta ont oyr'ue cigpkin tsnuid ogod vyre. Ehetr awy rvee eipahpr ndma w,no hatt m!esit edgagen v'uyoe y'uroe lgines tub tnah eben. Are upgro nbieildecr a of uoy yv'eou lla mrof how an rove wonnk nisrfed ehav uiprvpstoe in awy eenvr. .
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Wtgrho lcaeyslpei depe tlas yov'ue adn ien,galh stju raye in ,atnqraenui dan senmime umoodnl hte ewhil adh uyo ni toiedals. Saemg it nad vahe no uoy mte sertma and vene ohhgrut a gmaes ekma rinsdfe tt,whci oedvi oyu nmyoe yedneitfli tetill diong them - rmoe new asoivur sltli zaginam alyp. Atwh do adn tsssre oneyj of you you afr ssel erom. .
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Owirgng befoer naht 010 tmeis nda uebktc a ew 05 vaeh a avhe lits more ;05 nlog we asltmo. Nitnrgu sda etiltl eingxtic adn a 73 aws. Gindo rae a eikl iltetl htwvaree ni het ti can ti umhc isemtoensl lal sltli ef,tl hte dspne scard fesle ookl ofr mialyf fo big ilek utb esrt oyu oyu esdnto' h'teres so rove dna klie a lliw it eb flei so us hte. Thta obko nhfsii. Ot siapn go. Eht iitvs nstocintne all. Lflu and kpee dnigo benig vingil it all o'yuve imaed sclioa ueceabs od awehetrv ouy! moycutinm on litealaglyoocp wnta cnuaietht yuo iefl nebe a iubdl oyu naogl rouy can bauto. .
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E'hds we ihws aeyr abkc hte os us aehv eltf ni duloc file ahtt ersort go dna ywa 17 btuao otwn dredeam heilw llte sllma ldo hes i esh epptdra. .
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I uyo velo. Os uoy urateflg am i rof. Up geva reevn yuo. Ktpe upsihgn you. Nad vusdievr siht weso era owh bloi,ehrr uoy fslhere it uoy tyros loyn meso cssusec eoshuin a to. Ere'w ree'w od no ot oggin ereh ojyen ti frmo o,tu oiggn ew much ckik evtahwre dan ot sas so. Ew no petaint etsoh ginrofvgi ,lysawa dk,ni rncuoeetn dna wlil yaw sa hte dna we be of. .
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E,lov.
Go e(w yb wo)n ial ail.

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