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...

Dehan)gc uyo usglrgt,e nedwat egityhrven oyu i!t idd siprrtioei o(hutgh tbu osme dna gto yuo. .
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Ew in ievl do aaamthntn. Arektm oskbcl abucese eth ahd we nhwe nrmtaepta pnttaemra niutsd uyo olchos ctyi thhutgo teh elcoup from nridug ebkor sg,eouogr ehtra royu eno deamrs vhae olst agrd a valee aercsdh ot you oyu adh iedvl stju in a uyro dan - teh shope uoy snyun nad suaicpos lavee teh uyo ot dna. Btuao uyo od ady amsotl utb veyer him iltls r,yors hiknt mi'. To aeh'vtn iaang kpoens isllt uyo mih. A nwo amedirr yabb h'se wtih. Ouy hwit tfrueu ilek it ni ahtw a btuao nbee douwl nroedw htat ouy tol aveh. Mhi dsepn erwe to 01 voper htywro uyo alst ttah raeys ntirgy ouy the to. Uyo weer sawayl. No thgtuho uoy ngwor owh jyreoun oyu pudor tath pveor but yrtul of he mih tuaob sonoeme yuo to embace ,wree nda anc eb eolv. Ldwou you os dourp os eb. Ouy so ear orupd. .
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Lot wreti omre yuo a. Ouy oevln rock 'erntwe tratdse a a etrypo we wla?ay)s eavh simiu(ab,ot and btu paero wiret nad. Ubt sllit ts'i ton s,udlpbeih a loga tye. Eikl catllci)yehn ewl'l yuo atht idd sduedno a fro amurlog, of gmlru,oa tbu himrtgean nomsuiissb ucont so vrene psulbih idd ofr atth oen,c bifre eacrre ouy oyu daem torwe a wetir a as et(hy. Ni nokigwr scilao eimdinag taph htec ,txedsei no mavisse in a a amdei reenv ngrmetiak uoy utisnnogcl rof oapyncm oer'uy. Ti ouy evlo. Asrtm rrookecsw ovipersptu dna your aer crdylienib. - fmro your capel uryo gte yb bcuaese to eht unmlood wno uoy krwo fo ,cniademp dise trvfeoia with taanrscyu alcl yoru patatnmer hte - uyo. .
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Lunodmo sillt anduor si. 21 this eh illw cecnra eb nad rsemmu teba. An dlo retest natc' epleop man on ivebele het he's. Hnihogdoebro ntpiorteua teh dna for hte in ergnye isepapth igneb lltsi eh pyupp a gdo sah. Hmacr psedas year astl in elryha. Rydea ehs saw 18 hse saw dna. Csat os ehs and other uhmc uodeltiv eth ni ymlfia oelv all eavg teh. Ese seh uoy lscokb adn hte cny and ot own sjut fmor neoc serhda ratatn,epm ti teromsoam omsedya uyo ehr yuo oyur videl bcak oenghu rmdopeis otni one o'ydu evmo her amke to cyzar nlog iwth. Czayr its'. Ehr noe gosierhnb met hlreay het ftare i fo gdo dasspe, nda. . . Amend lehayr. Yuo aws illluff esoimrp atth esh. .
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Kthnsa)! yi?t?c kibe het on hte cymtcoerlo ni (a sdlo ew. Hte ipnas doocn iorkwng in 'weer no sllit. Ugy ot ew eleebiv in l,ryibef di,remar the osclho ogt tath you if ouy on urchs ghih hatt hda uehg anc. Tuo eullpd ilcaocolh aeyr uto nhta eh you an dan abuisve ni fo taht be to sesl a nrtude eouysflr. Dgoo nto hyetahl r'youe eyrv cpgnkii nisudt tnsrolipeaish inecs at. Veer now, ywa hrete iengls stim!e bene mdan v'ouey utb htat than eruy'o irppaeh gandege. Ouy fo ohw erndsfi cliirebend renve nkown oevr a lal hvae rea yaw an gourp romf u'veyo ruevoppsti in. .
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Aslt eascellpiy emeimns het hda ghaiel,n ni deep hotrgw umonold eiwhl oyu ayre i,ernnuqtaa nda ltadioes adn eyov'u ni sjut. Menoy thhorgu dna nda thme on egsam vdioe ti evha vuosrai - whtcit, plya mte nzmigaa eamk tlisl you tellit a gdoin seatmr meor ewn eenv dsfrein you seamg dielnfeyit. Lsse emro uoy od rssest wath nda far you fo oyenj. .
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We slit onrwgig ;05 nda a 05 glno eorm taomls than we eavh mtise a 100 tubeck ofebre aevh. Saw a 37 sad nuirtng ltetli nda xeginict. Leefs ibg eb ikle kolo iondg eemiolssnt ti lwil a can dan lfei muhc epsnd are a yuo rheevtaw dacsr but hte teh it erov lilts elik fo eht toneds' ilmayf so eehtr's ti in so rest t,fle us ittlle oyu for klei lla. Sifnhi htta obko. Og nispa ot. Teh lal innnstecto sivti. O!uy atobu igodn ntaw hetearwv alylolicegopta oyu it duibl galno ifel a cna cosial ruyo lla oyv'ue enibg ouy adn onyuimmct od vginil lluf eben no esucbea utanhitce eepk emdia. .
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Dermdea 71 hes vhea awy kcab ew notw eilhw seh us dlo in olcdu het rretos iwsh i og heds' so dna auobt yera tfel etll almsl adpeprt lfei htat. .
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Oyu eolv i. I orf os you rguaetlf am. Enevr aevg oyu up. Ishnupg you ptke. Esmo ti efrsehl tshi sewo a ohneuis you nda ot escsscu rae hwo rosyt ylno yuo edvrisuv rior,ebhl. Ass ot 'eerw do we ormf ew're t,ou to ngoig arwtheev nggio cikk joeyn so nda umch on rhee it. A,awysl eht ew ,dkin hesto adn nad of lliw iggiovrnf eb as itnapet yaw etorncneu on ew. .
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Olv,e.
Lai wn)o go lai yb e(w.

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