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...

It! uyo oyu erhgityven a)edchgn eroiriitps tendaw btu ohu(tgh osem gguls,tre adn uyo ddi tgo. .
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Eivl anatmathn do ni ew. Ouy nrigdu ettpmaran spcsiuao uoy ruoy - oekbr eth treamk ohcsol a to oyu sbeucea you heatr edasrm amettparn vilde teh cyit tlso ghhttuo oen ofmr valee eht dreasch nda hnwe ahd uidtsn adh to we locbsk dan ouy tjus hsepo het ruyo a cupleo vahe g,gsreuoo syunn laeve adn ardg in. Evyer uoy od im' nithk ady saolmt him sltil utb uobta sr,roy. Ahn'vet imh kenspo uoy aagin tlils to. Aybb a aerirmd hse' thiw own. Veha yuo enbe with a taht ahtw etufur odulw utaob oyu in eilk it nowder tlo. 01 aseyr repov salt erwe to atth oyu owyrth him ot eht irtgny uyo spned. Reew swylaa yuo. Aotbu nrowg orepv prudo eb yltur him uyo cna uoy eabcem royujne fo on nad olev but to ohghttu erwe, woh uyo htta eh msooeen. Udpro os be uoy louwd so. Ouy os pduro are. .
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Mreo olt yuo a triew. Ew nda btu rtetsda a a peotyr yuo iwter ,imatib(osu veha ne'trew aayws)?l opear ocrk evlon nda. 'sit tye tno ,ubedlspih a lltsi lgoa utb. Ionuibssms rof a you ,gormalu e,nco reven you lnac)ecyhtil fo as carree did ogrmua,l tewro toncu that thta a shpiblu mdae fro kile febri os a btu lw'el ewtir dsnuedo yuo ddi (eyht getimhnar. Ni on mvseias mneaigid eernv a aypnocm luigncotns nkatermgi ni fro ilsaoc echt yuo tpah ,seexidt iemda yo'eru a iwrkogn. Velo yuo ti. Biycnrilde adn rae your tamsr tevppriuso oeoswcrrk. Ofetvair rouy fo pleac teh ihtw a,pimcned ot lcal - oyu eaebcus your rmfo now the gte rcunsayat uyo rowk side yb nlouomd erantatpm - yoru. .
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Si uodomnl rndoau itlsl. Eb illw rsemum stih eh ccrnea etab 21 nda. No an ebvilee nma eht epeolp 'hes ldo tretes ant'c. Eh bnogodirehho ppypu bgeni pihpseat gdo hsa ni a neygre orf and itlls eht oattnierup hte. Tsla year cmahr lahyer dsespa ni. Yaerd was ehs dan was 81 esh. Nad os retoh she eht hte itludove ylmafi voel geva ni lla hcmu astc. Myodsea emak ot olgn eognhu tion trate,manp ti bcka and to yrou duyo' eon emov eth uoy ehr sutj mmroostae osiredpm rseadh you oksclb erh yarzc cny cone and wno hse ese omrf ithw ouy ldvie. Its' ryzac. I eoghnisbr dog afert the her lahery of p,eassd neo nda etm. . . Endam elhyra. Htta lilfflu ouy asw hes presoim. .
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Beki ni iyt??c ymtecoclro !nkta)hs (a eth on hte lods we. 'eerw tllis cdoon spnia giornkw ni no het. Uyg ew suchr the lebeive ouy gto oyu ramdie,r r,yefbli ahtt solhoc ttha to gehu hihg ni fi adh cna no. Eb tou rndeut out thta ullped rfolesuy htan eh na ivuseba yuo a of ot slse in adn loaihoccl aery. Hyhltea ipahssniterol ensci ton uroye' evyr at good insutd ngikicp. Nseilg ,now !stmei geaedgn htat nhat been hpeapir awy yr'oeu tbu 'oveuy vree etrhe anmd. A fo lla oeyvu' morf rfsined ahev rvoe woh ldibnceire in opugr ouy an awy onnwk urteiovpps ear ervne. .
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Edep nad dna tdslaieo in in tnr,uaeniaq grhtwo hda stla stju yaer mmenesi ye'ouv heliw lonudmo ceplseayil aleihgn, hte uoy. Gzianma no - fetydleini rmatse easmg you it yuo ewn nigod ugthohr nda lettil dan orme vaorius myeno ltisl a ahev fdsienr ylap meka agsme emt temh ,ticwht eidov enev. Uoy esls raf wath etrsss adn do fo uoy rmeo ejony. .
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Stli a 001 we tnha eahv lnog 50 0;5 tlamso kbutce noiggwr emor nad ew mstei a eeforb ehva. Ctnexgii and iltelt a urinngt swa 37 sad. It ti slilt rcdsa are etsr'eh fo cna tahevewr tub ifel fslee ltf,e be a oslemsnite and revo het a os bgi lkie eikl you pndes so lliw igndo the setr dnto'es amiyfl eht ielk su orf yuo cmhu all it ookl in littel. Boko ttha nihsfi. Go naspi ot. Vitis all eth scinttoenn. Feil nigvil igodn onalg evou'y bgine uhtitncae a eolgialctpyola keep you! all nac oyur on ludbi watn ulfl ailosc uoy retwheva ynomtumic od eadim nbee eebuacs botau you ti dan. .
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Drdaeem teh kcba i tonw ew esh us life hse go rtrsoe obuat samll ellt ryae ni dlo awy etpradp nda taht 17 weilh lcdou tefl vaeh iswh d'hes so. .
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Vleo i oyu. Ma orf ruatgfel oyu os i. Nevre egva uoy pu. Uhsgpin etpk oyu. Ostyr rea ehroli,rb woh nda smeo nhoieus it frelhse htsi ot eisdvvru cuecsss yuo a only yuo eows. On adn so hmuc oyenj sas w'ree omfr w'ere evraetwh ti ew gonig ot eehr ,out to ckki oging od. Ew we oifgnrigv lwil nad etohs walya,s nad k,dni no nneruecto sa fo be het ayw ptetian. .
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,elvo.
Lai w)on ila go by we(.

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