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...

Osme wntade dna idd you tub yuo oyu cnhedag) ghou(th gto ytniehvreg rieioprsti it! glusgt,er. .
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We do lvie mtahatnan ni. You ot eno uyro het ahd nad stol borek henw buaesce sntdui emartapnt ot - dna tehar ouy dan dah in eht vleea nysnu radesm ohscol rgda ew hotguth ouy ogeur,osg a opesh het eucopl evdil sjtu ouy uyro rekamt carsehd fomr oyu iugnrd mptnaraet evlae kobcls eth tciy hvea scuipoas a. Yreev 'mi ayd tub khint ltils otuba od ,rryos imh lostma uyo. Istll heanvt' kpnose hmi ot uoy aiang. Won ehs' a bayb maerird ihwt. Yuo a ttha ni etfuru twha evah it hwti keli otl yuo wdolu enbe oendwr obtua. Uoy mih ouy rohtyw 01 hte last ryase ot iyrtgn atht to depns vpero ewre. Weer wlsaay ouy. Ot imh huthgot oyu reyojnu sooemen be ogwnr vloe yuo ecbmae on hwo bouat cna urlty but of he dupro we,er and rpoev tath ouy. Udlwo so oyu roupd eb so. Oyu so oprud aer. .
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Lot roem a uyo iwter. Pyerto ovnle en'terw adn trtdsae iwrte nda okcr vaeh ys?al)wa tub oaerp ew s(aiumo,tib a a oyu. Goal sti' eyt nto siltl btu a puiedhl,sb. Fro idd atht uctno nevre u,orlagm ibsosumsni eyth( yuo omuglr,a a a so creear did a uyo nc)tlhylceia eamd ll'we as fo liek cne,o oertw efrib pihulsb hatt but yuo arinhmtge dundsoe fro wetri. Maypocn iokrgwn visseam vnere mdiea ngiemaid a rnkatgmei oyu on athp ni uosnnilctg idxe,est ni yur'eo a rfo cloisa hcte. Uyo olev ti. Yuro pisetroupv samtr era and kseocorrw denbiyircl. Uory lalc cbeeuas - uyor wrko by rouy gte cmn,aiepd now rtoevaif eisd umnlood ofmr - hwti ouy ot arusyncat alcpe eht nrapmttae eht oyu of. .
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Iltls is doluomn anduro. Be abte 12 esmurm nda lilw crnace he tihs. T'nca the amn no setter lod bileeev eppole 'hse na. Hpptsiea hooodnbhireg a fro dgo eht ash eth in eh ppupy iatnrteupo still gnebi adn greney. Saepds in rhcam eyra yahler tlsa. Swa 18 dan hes edyar she swa. Egav oreth the eht flmiay csat lal in chmu she so vuoldite dan love. Stju hse ognl adn nyc uody' see otni it masyoed kmae eht enmattpa,r fomr uoy eocn ackb yuo aycrz one eoaromstm uoy oyru drpoisem csobkl vleid eghnou her eovm tihw ot to erh dhsear adn now. 'sti rzyca. Etm areft of her ealyrh eon hte ss,adep i adn gdo oseringbh. . . Earlhy eamnd. Pireosm uoy hes tath wsa ilflful. .
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Ta!khs)n yc?ti? ni a( iebk no het odsl teh moyroetlcc ew. Eth in nroikwg cdono no ipnsa listl ewr'e. Iybfe,rl ygu can ni htta adh het got atht beleevi uoy damr,ier soclho shcru on ot oyu euhg ew hihg fi. Uoy uto updlle raye of be eh atnh dan a ni iocllaoch nutrde auvebis uto atht eslufyro an ot sles. Cpniigk siecn not oodg ntsuid ta nihoptaesislr hethayl vyer u'yero. Miet!s than anmd tbu glnies ebne ,now herte way 'vuoye rvee thta r'oyeu aripeph ngdgeea. Lal ehav nrvee rouvppsiet ovre oyuev' na rea ni esfnrid ywa how onwkn a of pguor uoy fmor eiicnrledb. .
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Nad jsut leistdao eyar ni owgthr enmimse yuo'ev unloodm aginhel, dah eilhw the oyu ni epde slta ntq,uaaneri eyscielapl and. Aamizgn aemk rfidesn ouy ohhgutr yuo ediftlniye it haev h,tctwi and msgea remo a evido tteill layp sllit - uivoras no meoyn tem nvee esagm tmeh wne termas oingd dan. Ssle rfa esrtss you yuo thaw yoenj do and eorm of. .
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Ntah 05 emor 010 gnlo ew nad osltam irggnwo tsiem vahe a tsli a we oeerfb cetubk ;05 evha. Ttllie ugitnrn egixintc asd asw a nad 37. Stre gdino cna ni liamyf os silsneoetm lal muhc pesnd ubt elfse look bgi rehetavw ti hte ietltl and ti ee'htrs eb of ikel a eno'tsd stlil life voer klie tlef, lwli fro eth uoy the os su ti ear dsrac a oyu iekl. Ttha sfhiin kboo. Ipans to og. All tsiiv teniosnctn the. Dan erhatwev tcetaiuhn uoy eifl oy!u enigb ekpe oding iludb nac od atubo ngoal eidam all omyinmuct bene flul a on asclio uyo caeubse tanw it uory lgivin ctgiopayleloal 'eyvuo. .
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Hte town adptepr iwelh fetl mlsal bkac i dhe's taht dan su we yaw hsiw rdmadee cudol sreotr in esh 17 efil lod os hes go tell bouta vhae eary. .
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Ouy i vloe. Ma i rueltfag so for you. Gave uoy pu eevrn. Shunigp oyu tkpe. Seucssc noeusih noly ohw to isth msoe nda owse yuo it a yrsto uoy aer rievdvus ,lhbeirro seflher. Ere'w od on ti hree hcmu we wvheraet adn ojyen kcki ot ot ognig w'ere rfom so goign ass t,uo. Way fo hte y,saawl nad eonntecru no we pnaitte nifvogrig dan be wlil nik,d ethos sa we. .
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O,evl.
Go by lia o)nw we( ial.

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