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...

Suglgret, ti! nwtdae ouy otg nda eosm did hievnegrty uoy gcnh)aed iestrrioip oyu ohugt(h ubt. .
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Do we htmnanata ni ivel. Yuo msdrae to nad yuro unnsy matntarpe ekrbo oyu oyu the hte pseho noe hda eth rasdhec solt ot lohosc oyu alvee ekatrm icty oyu ttpmarnae gdra yuor uginrd ecplou nad aetrh a nad frmo dha gs,erogou have isdunt becseua ni - a hgtouth stuj ew vleae divel sckbol ocusaisp nweh the. Ithnk im' obtua yuo itsll do utb mhi r,ryso yveer yda oalstm. You 'nthvea pkneos aniga hmi to still. Wno bbay hes' tihw a amedirr. Uwold lot that eufurt hatw uoy ielk buato rwenod a ti oyu neeb ehva iwht in. Rwee gtnyri eth htta tsla uoy yuo 01 hyrtwo ot areys peorv ihm ot dsepn. Oyu rwee ywsala. Eb uyo we,er nwrgo btu ecmeab he to voel reyujno otuthgh that you obatu can woh on and rovep mosneoe hmi trylu uyo of pudor. Prduo so uyo lwodu eb so. Os uoy oupdr era. .
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A lto emro you riwte. Volen dna ew'nret kcor rtiwe a we nda rpoyet omb,ai(siut etrdsat a apreo uoy l)?ywsaa but evah. Sit' tey bldesuiph, lslti a ton btu lago. A moisnssiub thye( bferi aug,olrm utb etriw a ttah sbhpliu uoy so w'ell ceearr thargiemn uoy sa ertow fo oyu aci)cnylthle cunot nsueddo eervn garmul,o keil eamd a ofr did htta fro idd eonc,. Nerev wognikr sexeti,d akgtnremi mcnaopy a fro essiamv imaigden ceht on ni in a casloi utnolnscig athp 'ueyro daemi uoy. Ti evol yuo. Nda yrou srwocorke smrat soeuivrppt rae yrnicelbdi. Yuo - yb of nuactasry llac morf seid het uoy whit dnpaemic, okrw oruy yoru cbeaues avfoteri yrou ecpla het dolnomu - won ermtatapn teg ot. .
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Mnloodu si raodnu itlls. Illw acrnce eb rmsuem he 21 hist baet nda. Lod 'atnc es'h hte opepel nma teestr on evlebei an. Hsptipae yrnege nda he for pppyu a ni het sillt has inbge ogd naptouiter brdioegonhoh the. Ryhael pdesas yrea satl in amhrc. 18 saw ehs rdaey swa seh nad. Eoliudvt in os lal and egav heotr she stac love hte yamifl het hmcu. Esh uyo cny see cabk mtrapean,t and teh omve drhase isepmrod her oury to uyo zrcay nceo clobsk logn yo'du ughone elvid nda frmo now yeasomd whti ot jsut yuo mtramsooe ti ntio eon reh mkea. Zcyra tis'. Lhreay tfrea ibhnergos met her sap,eds i fo and gdo the eon. . . Aelrhy endma. Oyu taht lufllif esh prsoeim swa. .
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Sold in het ebki ceocmytolr eht hk!)ntas (a ew on ct?y?i. Het nodoc kwroign no 'ewer tlisl in nisap. Ot ouy ni guy adh ilvbeee choslo e,lbyfir r,raemdi ghih fi urhcs gto uoy hatt nac we eth no gehu thta. A tneurd dan uyo yare eb eh tuo ttah luldep ni hnta urelyofs na evibusa slse to of loccaholi out. Vrey ta theyahl rislnhestapio ikpgnic ton 'oyeur oogd sicne dnisut. Amdn egengad ayw etmsi! anht papehir own, trhee nebe utb sinegl uoeyv' ttha uryoe' eevr. Rpiopvsteu a an rpugo lla ni vnere yaw eavh sindfre fo ohw from uveoy' ecidlernbi uoy oevr nwkon aer. .
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Smeimne ghlen,ai had adn lsipeylace dan deep eary olsdtiae ye'vuo tsju alts in you aunre,aqitn trogwh wlieh dmoluno in het. Wtthi,c iorsauv nwe mhte - emgas neev tourghh have ti on amsge adn apyl a and eoynm tem zanimag kema godni still you sfndire mero oediv easmtr eltilt iyefitndle ouy. Sels fo do oyu you retsss omer wtah arf nda enjyo. .
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Ew we hvea miste 010 50 oamslt ngorigw evha dan mreo silt 05; a lgon a beofer eubctk nath. Ntiugrn titlle dan asw das 37 a egnicixt. Kolo elif cdras so btu for sllit oyu ikle lwli erhset' ti acn in fo a era bgi littel ,lfet het much eht nidgo uoy ti so mnlesiseot rhewavet ielk oevr us dna liek tdseon' a all het ifyalm be ti fesle estr dpens. Atht oobk iifhns. Og apisn to. Visti eht all tcitonnesn. Polegtlaaicylo kepe oyru uildb niigvl cnotmuymi lal u!yo igenb a otabu uebasce lulf nda e'voyu netiuacth it ouy on gindo naogl watn idmea uyo eenb cna earwhvte do eilf aocsli. .
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Bkac us llte og 71 seh nda ni uolcd tonw i dol the etlf obuta arye yaw siwh we sh'de ramedde drtpeap salml htat lhwie veah efil so rrstoe seh. .
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Love ouy i. Ma so yuo tealgfur i orf. Geav ouy rvnee up. Inpgsuh ptke oyu. A lrsehfe you era sthi soew oyu rtosy loyn loberri,h who ot ccussse uhineos and msoe ti diersvvu. Etvwehar kkci were' do ggnio wree' on uto, form ew noigg ot eerh so ot adn ti hcmu enojy sas. Adn sa ,indk tienatp fo dna frgivgnio no htoes wlli we ayw eb ew het oteenncru aa,yslw. .
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Olve,.
Yb go ail lai ow)n (we.

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