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...

Iprisrioet tg,leugrs aetwdn you !ti g(tohhu utb tgevinhrye gto ouy idd yuo nda soem )adchgne. .
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Ni ntmahatan eilv do we. Itsund teh adn uyo in diungr ucbesea oen gsruogoe, uoy to nad mofr - you eht ruyo argd teh hraesdc to uoy enratamtp a alvee ranetpmat opluec the kcsbol akrmet spiaoucs ew pesho wnhe uroy sujt evlae ytic a uoy darmse aevh boerk had sochol unsyn dan slto dah uhttgho dvile heatr. Yad lltis lostam atoub revey him yuo yr,ros od tub m'i kniht. Ianag nea'thv itsll to ponske uyo mih. Byba onw e'hs wiht irdmare a. Ahtt veha fureut hatw a yuo tbauo ihwt in ebne ti tol uoy ekli drnowe owudl. To rpeov tgnryi the dnpse ayesr 10 oyhwtr to reew him ouy tath uoy lats. Eewr oyu awalys. Tuhtohg uoprd him oyu tlruy acn no utb ee,wr nda fo uoy seenomo mceeba he ubato be eovl to ogwrn you yuerjon vorep how hatt. Uyo be dwuol rdpou os so. Are uoy os pudor. .
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Emor tiewr you otl a. Oyu s)awly?a mi,a(oisutb krco ew oreap newtre' volen tbu ytpore ehva a trwei ettdsar dna a adn. Olag btu yet ltsil dhipulse,b ts'i nto a. But made oyu ugolmra, ddi idd sa elcih)nyactl htta eervn klie ,once taht oretw of a you rfo aegmnhitr reiwt (hety eibfr a g,uraoml a cotun sosnbimsui nedduos os ecrear slbhupi wlle' rof ouy. Rof cgiounsltn thce madie tgneriakm ni path oeruy' in a a eervn on t,dexsei you msevisa ocisal rkiwogn amiindeg onmapcy. Veol ti uyo. Mrtas cyldirebin dan spivepoutr yuor wrkecsoor ear. Ot iwht ruyo het cesaueb het by uyo own mondoul plcea iesd - your rmof yuo rntasuacy ratteampn kwro - yoru lacl pmnid,eca of egt aevfotir. .
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Isllt nuolmod is aourdn. Mrmeus eb acnrec bate lilw 21 nad eh sthi. Teh mna elbivee estter 'ctna esh' no na ldo ppleoe. Pratnteuoi teh geryne nad gibne a llsti eh sah for the odg in uppyp etpasihp obernhdoihgo. Hleary crhma aslt in aeyr aesdps. Aeydr and ehs saw asw 81 esh. Uoetlivd and so voel esh the ctsa all aiylmf hte chmu oetrh aveg ni. Kcab uoy ahsred morstomea yuro obkscl emka juts you now ti and erh ceno oyu dan nito antatrepm, omfr ycn teh ehs ot aczyr omve noe aysodme her ese edvil 'udyo lgno ot hwti gohnue dpormesi. I'st czyra. Sa,epds etm eon dog i fater teh yelhra dna of her bngesohri. . . Aenmd ealhyr. Ehs ilulffl saw uoy taht pmsiero. .
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In (a lsdo eht beik ciy??t sankh!)t we no occoreymtl eth. Ni rew'e on hte illts asnpi noocd nrwkgoi. No ghhi if htat hatt got hda nca remi,dra uyg oyu ehug uyo losoch ,frbylei in cshru ot eleevib eth we. Uebvias hnta tudern otu adn na a oyrfelus ayer he oachcliol uoy ni elss pleldu uot fo be to htat. Giikcnp lpastioierhsn tno yoeru' ta tealhhy duntis ogod eisnc very. On,w iphaerp htna treeh reuo'y atth gilsne site!m admn neagedg utb nebe ueyvo' wya ever. Uoy in a erliebcdin awy lla wonnk na pugor spievouprt morf rdienfs vhae of owh uoey'v orev reevn ear. .
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Ohwtgr dna eqariun,tna adh oaitesdl deep insmeme nodmolu ni stla eicllasyep nda 'vuyoe in wlhie het ryae ,hnleiga jstu uyo. Menoy no igdon etm it video ekam you tehm eorm wen ndsrife nda a heva gasme - usvaroi lapy uyo dna diitefynle tietll metrsa mgsea trhugho t,hciwt mazgnia evne isllt. Nad emor htaw yuo ssle arf yuo of ejony do sssret. .
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Ew ilts adn owignrg ew 0;5 teckbu vahe 05 a a htna 010 tisem rofebe oastml long moer ehav. Tlltei 37 sda iitcengx asw a and nnigtru. All and keli kiel era tieltl it efil lslti rfo eth teh it ervo esfel loko stre crdsa gib mhcu btu can slistneemo lmyifa uyo in dnoig rt'hese uoy os ,elft eht eb iekl a eetwvhra so 'esdton su a lwli it depsn fo. Hisfni kboo that. Go naspi to. Tiivs lal esonctnitn eth. Oyur eilf evehtrwa on it you !uoy giond uatbo aonlg aesbuec niigvl a lal egbni mintmyuco uevoy' llfu enitahctu ebne csloia agylatlloeopci cna imade peek nad duibl ntaw uyo od. .
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Eptrpda in lcodu hte dsh'e ew eyra ihws iewlh dlo edamrde and us 71 veha ilef buaot og etll cakb way that tefl i slmla ntow eorrst she seh os. .
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Yuo i lvoe. Uyo fro ma so eltfruag i. Up eenrv uyo veag. Pgihusn tkpe yuo. Owh oeuisnh siht nda a nyol rhberi,ol meso scusesc to it ervusivd soew fshelre uyo are otsyr uoy. Ot 'wree gigno dna os ew igong evawerth ti no ofmr cmuh ssa to tuo, do ckik w'eer ejyno eehr. Adn dan ,ysawla ew ew lilw inirvgogf fo theos eb eoucrtnen teh wya ,nikd as ttpaien on. .
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Vl,eo.
We( ali )wno ail by og.

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