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...

Ser,glgtu ouy hvneiegyrt idd g(ohhut )eadgnch ti! ouy uyo but nwdaet soem rpiiotirse dan tog. .
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Ew od live in aatanmhtn. Rmfo ouyr ityc we etamrk and martantpe sbcokl ni ysnun eevla uoy rndugi taehr aleev ouy uyor ujts ouy nad creasdh permattan yuo wehn ploeuc noe hda teh to you uo,eggors beeuacs to coohls argd a and - eht stol ahd oiacpssu ahev intuds eth a pseoh reobk dilve hte htohutg ramdes. Hitnk utb btuao oatsml oyu day im' him rrs,yo lsitl ryeev od. Aagin ltlis to poksne oyu ev'athn imh. Nwo mdrreia ehs' ithw a baby. Turuef ithw oabut it lkie eben derown a oulwd you ahtw lot hatt ni eavh oyu. Ot uoy 01 yarse ovper hwroty eht ttah yuo ednsp tlas inrtgy him ot eerw. Ewer asalyw ouy. Acn you yuo uyrjnoe nda eb owh ensoome olev he tbu rupdo oaubt mceeab him e,erw htat ltryu of ot yuo tohghtu ovrpe on grwno. Oudwl you rdpuo be so so. So uyo ear ordup. .
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A you erom rweit lto. Rnetw'e uyo aveh cork staiuobi(m, yptero a dna we twrie lwas)y?a but vonle atstrde nad a pareo. H,ipdebsul tbu i'st a yte ont tilsl alog. Fo etrhniagm a weort iphbuls ekil that eth(y eifrb yuo rum,galo oyu as for adem ouy snboiusism that ehnlctilac)y but a write gmaur,lo idd rerace lel'w a rfo tcuon never ddi n,oce dosudne os. Iemda hetc nekratigm ptha no kwrgoni veenr ioslca ameisvs fro 'ruyoe in a lgniuntcos oyu a sexi,etd mgniiade nocpmya ni. Evlo oyu ti. Rkscroewo uipvtsoerp yrdicliben adn yruo mtsra are. Trmntaape esdi work oyru omfr own mdlnoou tsuanyrca uryo ryuo egt ot clla yb - ,mnpeicad of pclea hte ascbuee - oyu with uoy airfoevt eth. .
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Si auondr ldonmuo sllit. Adn abet be nccare tshi lwil msmuer 12 he. On vebelie odl a'ntc na erstte sh'e amn eleopp hte. Ofr iptpshae uttenraoip eh eth ni ash a hoboedohrgni bnieg gneeyr itlsl god pppyu dan eth. Rhelya ni ryae speads atsl mharc. Esh wsa adn she was 81 edyra. Hte eluvitod os uchm fmaliy ni het asct all vgae hes hreto eovl adn. Yuo thwi ehs omfr ougnhe atormoems ti acyzr cnoe eomv 'uyod eht rhe iont ot ot tsju oen cyn ouy now oyu tpanetarm, emka and divle myeasod bslcko ckba redhsa and imosdpre oryu ees goln erh. Is't zcayr. Fo ed,asps hte noe bgsernoih nad ehr raetf gdo earylh tem i. . . Ealhyr amdne. Taht aws lfullif sromiep oyu seh. .
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T?icy? mtcoolryec we tn)!sakh (a osld hte kbie in on teh. Ilstl eth we're in nodoc asipn ngikowr on. No biveele htat hda ew ni hsocol ghhi ugy eil,brfy eghu you atth hcsur ot aiem,rrd got cna oyu teh if. Uot an uoy soufyrel lses thta nda tdrenu of ot eb uvaeisb in icallocoh leldup a ayer eh naht out. Good at eryv psorniltaheis ont kcpgiin hytalhe snice usidtn y'eruo. S!etim awy nath egdegan uro'ye utb won, ttha enbe e'oyvu haprepi dnma evre lgneis three. Lal ehva uye'ov in enerv evor wya aer fo nwkon eeilcinrdb an how yuo rmof a ednrfsi oprug upipoestrv. .
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Adh ilewh ni jsut yuo eismmne in psaclliyee adn eped wtogrh ,eqauiarnnt het yare hlga,eni doomunl satl 'vyoue nda litasdoe. Rtmeas agmse a no nwe etllit uoy ermo tlils mgesa and emyno rauivos rfdsein it uyo huroght itctwh, etnefiildy veha - them neve tme alyp edivo emak inazmag nda dogin. Uoy erstss od fo arf nejyo sesl reom hawt dna ouy. .
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Stmei rmeo ew a we heav rfebeo hatn dan 05; 50 100 uetkbc smotla gnogwir gnol a list evha. Was a nguritn dan ietcingx liettl asd 37. Fo rsdca ehrtevaw ekil you os mlisesteno lal ti a ft,le hcum ofr ltisl are liek eb evro iekl flei the a teh dgnio su nda dnpse olok eht eh'esrt acn rset os ni but bgi ilttel it uyo will esfel ostn'ed it liyfma. Iinfsh ttah obok. Og to sniap. Lal ttneonnisc eht sviit. Icalos olgna dan ingliv it do theervwa eucsaeb ielf ldubi you o!uy uoyr taiunhtce no you awtn lla damie baotu pkee egatloylicapol llfu gienb 'uyoev nbee godni can a minmoyuct. .
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So lwihe we hiws rserot lslam the su nad aerddem culdo awy dptpaer reay ni ownt ldo i hse 17 taht acbk edh's ilfe bouta etll go hes telf evha. .
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Yuo i lvoe. Ma uyo so i fgetulra orf. Nevre vgae pu oyu. Phngusi petk yuo. Adn ot eudvrvsi ohw noly osme ti uoy rea a ehlrfse hionesu scsuecs styor breio,lhr uoy hist esow. Ti enoyj nogig w'eer od avrthewe iogng os rmfo we umch ssa to o,ut eew'r ot here kkic on dan. Adn adn liwl we knid, othes on eht eb nigroivfg we as awy fo niatpte noenurcet lsywa,a. .
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,oevl.
We( ali lai by og )wno.

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