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...

Pertioiirs !ti ouy uoy c)dgaenh tog eoms ts,rleugg but ddi ugothh( uoy eetrgnyivh nad tdanew. .
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Evil ni do ew tanmnaath. Adn hte nidrug uoy demars dan herdcas teh bskcol cuaseeb adh ew ahve trnapteam eelva uory reatkm gr,oouseg lsto henw ahert dan slcoho in ouy - ryuo ot okrbe uyo tyic eht you ipacsuos a mrfo ouy atmtreanp nsiudt eht opehs one nusyn a hoghutt ldiev to agrd eelva uelocp tusj ahd. Iltsl eryve ys,ror oyu ltamso obtau do ktnih i'm tbu ayd ihm. Ihm spneok to nevaht' ltlis naaig ouy. Se'h iadrrme baby a wno hitw. Yuo aveh uwodl oubta thta athw it rodnwe eben ekli in fueutr uoy otl a hitw. 10 horwty teh snpde gyntri oyu ihm roevp to to rseay ahtt tasl reew ouy. Were waylsa yuo. Levo oeyrujn outab uyo atht eb nad ubt uyo rudop epvro mhi rwngo eh e,wre no nac ooneesm rtuyl to uyo thohutg owh fo bemeac. So ouy odpur be wolud os. Porud so uyo are. .
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Rewti oyu otl a rome. Ehav kroc lonev uoy utb etwern' we rpoea yeprto a aay)?lws ratstde eirwt and dan iubsi(tm,ao a. E,ilbdsuph nto lgoa a ltisl sit' eyt btu. Did for h(yet bsinimosus thta you ewort you slbiuhp retwi ebirf edma eracer ,neoc fro atht a uenddos sa tuonc el'wl uagr,mol idd ilek enrve a a n)iallhecytc mogl,aru os naiegmhrt of you ubt. Oisalc a smsivae fro uyo onapmyc amdignei apth no aimde okwrgni etxseid, tehc enevr rmekatign in a usignncotl ni yreo'u. Elvo ouy ti. Eridicblny dan ptorsupevi rea ratsm yuro ercrooswk. By lapec ryuo mrfo het oolmund lcal het ryuo eftaovir pimacned, whti yuo - gte ouyr rcnuyasta - krow you sbeecua to seid fo now pranetamt. .
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Oundoml dnoaru si itsll. Illw rmseum acrcne eb eh nda 21 tsih bate. Odl ac'nt eieblve no etsrte man leeopp hse' the na. Ogd sllit puypp eh puoatrnite orf het ni hpetipas a eth regooidhhbno adn enryeg gineb ash. Rleahy aeyr hamcr psseda stal in. 18 she saw nda aws yaerd hes. Rtheo so vage in dutlveoi eht all ehs veol myafil tasc nda the cmhu. Neo wno rfom mtermoosa hre dna teh ncy emak ot dvile nlgo arehds dna ouy adeyosm cbka ti voem tjsu rouy seh hre ioeprmsd hngueo ot oitn you once lokcsb y'udo uoy htiw ese nrmetatpa, rzcay. S'ti rcayz. I odg pe,sasd hleyra fo rhe iohegnrbs met ferat eno the nad. . . Daemn ahrley. Ieopsrm thta uyo iulffll asw she. .
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In bkei teh omoletccyr (a no tyci?? t!)snakh ew teh sldo. Illst ainps eth rwee' ingkowr in no nocod. In adh ylrfie,b if atth uyo ygu ew uoy ardriem, eeibevl ot otg can on hhig eth uhge usrhc atth colhso. Nda yuo ni be halloicco taht ryae otu na a upedll dteurn fo eh vusbeia tuo rsfuyeol esls tnah ot. Thehlya o'reuy tno nckpigi iecns stdniu ta very godo tishlepnisrao. Tub on,w voe'uy ywa athn 'eyour eetrh andm !items atht ppiehra angeedg iensgl vree eenb. Nownk ayw mfro progu vero ear evha ohw an dsfneir e'vyuo fo ni ldeirbince yuo a all veiptpours vreen. .
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Leg,hina ogthwr and sjtu edpe adn islotdae iaeqaturnn, adh ni dloounm lats uyo in evyou' year ilehw eth meesimn cylselaipe. Emony and no yuo met ifiltyende ouy wth,tic ermo ifnrdse itellt gasme ndogi uhrgoht even meth auovsri sagme dna veido nmziaga ti - aveh yapl ekam lsitl etmras a nwe. Lses emro adn od of jeyon uoy oyu far wath sstesr. .
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Malots rmoe hnat ebkctu avhe 50 olng 100 ew islt setim and haev iwonggr a ;50 a eforeb ew. Sda ltitel iugtrnn swa gietcixn a 73 and. Fro ti 'ntdose srehe't the eovr lilw so uyo ouy keil tub etewhvra igb the cna adn hucm eb su klie ekli a ymflai tilsl efil ni lla ti eth fo a stemnioels drcsa et,lf esefl so epnsd rea ookl it ster iltelt donig. Atth koob nhfisi. Og iaspn ot. Iisvt ttnncinose eth lla. Mytmcniou sloaic uyo touba a ntctahuie nigod vnigli you escaeub ekep file on adn full yu!o lal gyolialoelcatp iebgn nca your naglo tnaw od atewhevr bnee 'yuveo ti dlbiu idmae. .
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Oubta eflt dolcu 71 onwt i ilewh ywa veha ilef seh su nda repdapt ltle thta old 'desh rstoer yrae lsalm ackb in seh hte os go wish mdeared we. .
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Olev yuo i. Ma so i uyo fltgurea fro. Uyo agev up nvere. Tkep uyo nspugih. Ti huiones uyo emso ,rbielhor soew a nda to nlyo oytsr ouy how isth ierdsvuv are ccsessu eerfhls. Ot it kcki tu,o er'we we reew' ereh umhc ot sas od nad veehwtra nojey no onigg so oiggn rfom. Fo dna hte awy roecnnetu ayl,saw we we be seoht voggnirif no dkn,i adn will as tenitpa. .
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,velo.
Ew( lia o)nw by go lai.

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