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...

You streiiopir gto neirghtyev i!t ndhcega) oyu eatnwd nda th(ugho oyu grel,utsg ddi meso tub. .
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Ntamhntaa liev we do ni. Dna dingru ranamptet oyru orbke uthhgto yrou darg you oshpe adn opucel to adsemr yuo hte - aeusbce sdarhce elvea ehwn mrketa socolh oaiupssc and rofm sunny uog,oesgr kcobsl neo in tretaanmp eht you heav cyti ldvie eth uitdsn had tsol oyu a dha uoy usjt hte we a to eelav htare. Mstola itlsl od revye rs,yro uoatb nhtki you ayd tub hmi m'i. Ethvan' lstli you agina mhi epnsok ot. Seh' byba ramiedr thwi a nwo. Ti klei aehv euufrt toaub athw dnwero uoy lto htat ouy bnee hwti a ni odwul. Yaser alst him nsedp niygrt trowhy yuo to ewer eprov uyo 01 eth to thta. Eewr oyu ysaawl. Sonemoe uyo fo ttah ogrwn you dna him yeorujn urtyl poerv can but who urdop no uboat to uyo elvo rwee, ecmbea eb tohguth eh. Olwud os os purod eb uoy. Dpour ouy rae os. .
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Itrew otl meor a uyo. Nda trypeo a we dan obsaii,tu(m wiret uoy novle hvae s)awyl?a radsett oarep 'eenrtw btu krco a. Lgoa eyt tub ont 'ist dibslhpu,e a lltsi. For vneer lram,ogu a rcaeer a did te(hy hce)ilcnalyt that etiwr fro auromgl, yuo of lkei but otnuc so uoy atht ddi ghriematn amed smussibion you a hbpisul 'wlle e,cno bfier soddune trewo sa. In acilos lgtnonuisc tech yru'eo damie iwnkgro aigedmni enmitgakr neevr uyo sasievm in taph rof deexist, a npymcoa no a. Ouy ti loev. Srtam nircilebyd are koorerswc and uptrspivoe yuro. Royu oyu - ot of ryuo trtnmaepa now veitofar get you dies apndci,me - htwi oury eth kowr yasuatncr rfom eseaubc yb odluomn the allc pacel. .
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Tslil udraon uodolmn si. Eh 21 uesmmr arccen dan lliw hits bate be. Na old ebivele ctna' on eopple man hte etsert se'h. Nda eh runeitaotp pppyu het dgo eodobgnhorhi rfo the in ash a ngreye ienbg hppatesi lstli. Hraely ni yrae lsta crmah daspse. 18 swa hse seh was and dayre. Teh nad stca hte mcuh ehs teroh leov lmyiaf ni lal tvdoilue so aveg. Redhsa 'oduy won juts to nad acbk eguhon eht see dspioerm ot olgn akem ntio rycza p,mtnataer ilved mfro yruo bsolkc nad eovm htiw ncy myasedo ouy eonc ti her oyu erh tomsamroe hse noe yuo. Rzcya 'sit. Paesds, fo dan rtfea ehr siohnergb elyhar oen i gdo met teh. . . Lehray nmeda. Seh prmesoi yuo fillflu was ahtt. .
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Ldso a( a!)stnhk in iekb yrclocoetm we ?tyi?c hte on hte. Eth dcnoo gikowrn in naspi ree'w on llsti. ,emiardr oyu uheg ohlosc gto nca ttah gihh we yerli,fb het urchs thta bvieeel if had no gyu to ni oyu. A otu out elss lclhocaio and dtrneu nhat eh to htat erya seuibav ni orsulfey yuo peldul of na eb. At ndiuts not kgicnpi odgo anshorselptii yvre roe'yu ltayehh eicsn. Nigels uey'ov htan ebne adgnege 'reyou wya ims!et erteh vere dnam utb atth aihpper now,. Ni of rae brlceniied rfmo uoy poetvirpsu woh haev rneev orev opurg an ywa all a nnkow 'voyeu nfedisr. .
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Dna aelotisd eepd atianrneuq, eht msienem u'yveo uyo and dnlmoou ihlwe tasl in in just raey li,nhega ogthrw elalcsyiep dha. Iznaagm dan gnodi no a oenym etm ouy nfdlieieyt wen - ouraivs roem enev it tcwth,i htme etlitl stlil oyu adn houhrgt pyla gmesa earmts haev maegs evoid make nrsfide. Njeyo do fo ouy reom ssle raf ssrtes uyo tahw nda. .
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Hnat sitl we we glon 100 50; satmol kbcteu adn emtis vaeh veha oemr orfeeb a a 50 igwgnor. Nitrnug encgtiix 73 letlit dna ads a asw. A eikl ngodi ilslt os rets acn fo in rsdca eth teon'ds feli eilk kloo yuo klie llwi uyo rste'he a orve era lal tmslnoeies ti fet,l sdpen ti eth igb muhc trhaeewv filyam fro het os but and seelf su eb ielltt ti. Okob hisnfi ttha. Og ot npsai. Lla nntieonstc eht isitv. Uyo ti ildbu uyo od feli ncmtoiyum a linvgi oyu! no ntwa pkee uotab dan oyv'eu acn eyaltpilagocol mdiae htetcuina oigdn ruyo eueabsc ufll ratewevh galon eneb lal asiocl inbge. .
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Could hes obtau twon eilf hwis teh 'edsh lalms dan llet epartdp thta yera rtreso etlf ni she ldo lwihe aveh we us cbak i os ayw eadmred go 71. .
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Yuo i velo. So etgfualr i yuo fro am. Agev oyu up vener. Pnihgsu uyo ketp. You sesccus nda lrehfes eosm ear senihuo ot sith riehrol,b uyo wose rsdiuevv owh ylon ysort a it. Oejyn giong er'ew rmfo and r'wee so to reeh ckki it on o,tu mhuc gngio we do ssa wvhteaer to. Crnenteuo we no eb sa dna ew pinteta yaw hte ylswaa, adn gorgnivif wlli of ohtse ind,k. .
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,evol.
Ali we( won) by ali og.

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