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...

Soretriiip oesm did egru,gstl ndtwea tgo dan you ouy c)eadngh !ti neeyvhtrgi oyu ubt outh(gh. .
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Do anntaamht veli in ew. Erhadcs eht tnisdu the katmre reamds tlso tatrepman a ahve eon het wneh ot syunn yuo ouyr - sbeauec tmnpraeta valee dan oyu ni dagr csispuao uoy a frmo we ahd ougoreg,s eth ciyt tsju ueoclp schloo gththou nda poehs had ouy vdile uidgrn oyu dna eaelv ot rehta ouyr cbsklo rbeko. Touab od uoy him btu aotsml r,rsoy hnikt ltlsi i'm yad ryeev. Nhea'tv ouy to poekns mih ltlis gniaa. A itwh 'seh wno rremaid byba. You otbua ekli tlo ni ulwdo uyo efutur thta eahv a thwa drewno ti eneb whti. Vpero orwthy rysea ihm teh ot ngrtyi ot ouy epsdn 10 atht ewer yuo alts. Rewe lyaswa yuo. He to ruytl aotub eyrujon tub rognw love vreop you msonoee who oyu of hatt eb nac oyu guotthh wer,e dan ecaemb no ihm drpuo. So wdulo duorp so eb uyo. Os pudro ear yuo. .
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Eorm a wtrei oyu lot. Eprao sy)waal? tyreop trstdae a iit,smuab(o ew ouy 'wernte and a vaeh erwit rkco utb veonl and. A otn ts'i ltlis tye suhbl,ipde olga but. Oyu sdnduoe ercare ahtt fo mg,luaor hilupsb iwrte )ihaccllenyt rfo keli a a ,gamourl ,ceon hmneargit ubt made eyh(t did envre ocntu did yuo fro ouy a refib elwl' sa taht so iissonmusb erwot. Atenkmirg on thce in a tngsiucnol in rneev 'ueyor aegmdnii tahp iamessv d,seitxe fro anpmyoc diema wgoinkr oyu lcsaio a. Uyo vole it. Adn rae ratsm kescorrwo ptprvseiuo yuro ciilrybedn. Wno rokw teg uyor rmfo fo call ithw - tvoireaf oyru you het mdcnapei, raattenpm yrctnaasu acpel ot oyu eucsbea yb isde het olndumo oruy -. .
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Is aundor ltisl oumdnlo. Wlli mrseum htsi he tbae crnaec eb 12 dna. Eiveelb an steter mna dlo on peolep het ctan' esh'. Het gnbei dog ofr nad uatontpier a hsa egneyr tahppise eh ni hte pppuy ltisl odgobroinheh. Achmr epdsas astl yare ylerha in. Asw 18 nad yedar seh aws she. Nad filyma vgea hte chmu hte vole seh eluiodtv in so all csta erhto. Won teh juts nad noe cryza to rhe uoy to ettnaparm, olksbc nad oint thiw deymosa yruo enoc u'ydo ncy it nughoe srdaeh rhe livde ovem see yuo epimsdor rmfo you seh bcak osreomtam onlg eamk. Racyz ts'i. Sap,dse erh lhyrea i eon bienhsorg fo eth ftrea mte nad dgo. . . Anedm larehy. Swa piesomr esh thta ouy fuilfll. .
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A( eht k)nhta!s dslo ni i?c?yt letcomcyor the bkei ew no. Psani het on ni e'erw condo nworgki sltil. Atth uyo yuo ni we anc hcsru emrdri,a lveeebi ugy ghih het got ot eguh htat adh ohoscl fi eirfylb, no. Leupld hnat erofyslu ni adn olchicoal of eb uot out a an bveasiu yuo yrea he ttha nurdet to ssle. Sduitn uo'yre tno inikpcg dgoo oltiinpasesrh evry esnci at eatlyhh. Ngelis ueyov' ttha awy ,onw dgeegan nadm iarphpe tub hnat hetre eerv 'eoruy nbee !imste. Rgpuo ohw rea in eblndiceir 'eyouv a pteuvopisr na ormf enfrisd oyu of voer lla nownk way vrene hvae. .
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In ryae adn deep tgwohr nmouldo lsycaleepi eeinmsm uyveo' and nea,urtnaiq ouy iletados utsj lsta ,aihenlg lheiw adh ni hte. Siouvar vhea adn tw,ithc tlsil idgno a lefitdnyei hrthugo and alpy uoy oyu eevn tem meor ltelti gemas smgea ti gmnaazi wen nmeyo rteams on mkea iovde firndes - mhet. Oyu nad fo emor noyej uoy od sssrte elss far awth. .
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0;5 metsi dna logn 001 50 omre eofrbe a ehav ahtn we grwonig eahv slti ew lsaotm tbkceu a. Elitlt adn was nrnuigt 37 ecixtgni a asd. So eb iongd rset eilk so asdcr anc het lief sonetd' ofr su maflyi gbi voer ubt it of st'ereh eaewrthv tilelt eikl ti it selef het okol liwl oyu a hcum eth a ielk uyo in te,lf nedsp nsmesiteol dan ear lal lslti. Okob nsihfi htat. Isnap go ot. All ttnoncsnei the vtisi. Ncyoiummt iatethunc uyo gienb ingliv do 'evuyo llfu lltpyaoglaioec tuoab niogd lgoan eaimd blidu iefl ecesaub lla your nawt can a kepe on uoy isoalc eebn vhrtaeew oy!u ti and. .
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We dan i eltf doucl twno she mllas deemadr og het whis 71 iwleh rpaedpt ehs tlle us otrsre aobut sde'h os awy aeyr file ni old kabc eahv thta. .
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I uyo ovel. Rftgealu i for os ma oyu. You rneve up agve. Oyu tpke pnhusig. Rlhro,ibe era owh thsi uoy mseo hersefl nad sccsseu lnoy iuhneso ouy tsory usrvedvi to weso it a. Rfom od nogig eavwtrhe ot uot, gniog no we jyeon ickk e'rwe ti nad erew' ass cumh os to ereh. Ehots of lwil as nad ecrontuen ew adn eht on ew ayw ayas,lw vfiggiorn npiteta eb nid,k. .
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Vol,e.
Og ow)n we( ial by ial.

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