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...

Otg uelgrts,g nad detawn tug(hoh emos yuo it! etegviryhn you orisitierp ouy a)dnegch did btu. .
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Haatatnnm do evli in we. Eth ospeh ctiy hwne ouy ouy adh dha ehva you aesecub dsinut eelva kbroe ardmse adn rgugoes,o gdra eulocp ryou ptmaertan - uyo aaentmtrp dan evlid ot cokslb totguhh takmer hte oyru dan a tosl ew fmor ot noe teh a utsj syunn lavee oyu ni ecdrsha hloocs rngdui sipascou hraet het. Ady veeyr aslmot ihm im' tlisl hnikt uyo tbu od rsryo, ubota. Kosepn etahv'n itlls imh ngaai you to. Onw 'hse a ybab mriraed ihtw. Hvea thiw a dolwu ebne klie olt in teufru obtua uoy atwh ti tath uoy edwrno. Ginyrt uoy satl mih ttha sndep ot vrpeo ewer oyu eth to 10 horytw ayers. Yuo rewe yswala. No uoy ecbame elov but hwo r,wee botua adn htta uthhtgo ropev of doupr to mnoseeo anc eb ounyejr owrng oyu rutly eh hmi ouy. Upodr eb os so uoy luwdo. Os rea odpur uoy. .
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Ouy mreo olt etiwr a. Treiw ew dan korc have etew'rn ptyore ouy aesttdr adn a (si,outimab utb rapoe lvoen sw?yala) a. Ubt it's a not yte edpsb,uilh loag iltls. Rfo utb rof htta a oyu le'lw eyht( tmaregnhi thta a eikl dmea ddi uoy iberf triwe lenihlcty)ac ,gaumrol career eevnr u,rogmal idd fo you udsoden a ilpsuhb oewrt os cntuo as oenc, niibssomsu. 'oyreu tech ameivss a lscioa oyu kmrtageni rof ni emaid koiwrng in a uoncnstgil on apnmcoy d,tesixe reven enmaidgi path. You it veol. Ksowcrore nilydcireb ovrpispteu your armst aer dan. Rouy ruyo a,cndeipm scebuae now seid eoivfrat het hwit - rkow yb lalc gte omfr anutarycs - to fo pnttamaer eht lnduoom elcap uroy yuo you. .
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Is doomunl sltil ornaud. Accnre nda eb wlli eh tabe mrsemu 12 siht. Het 'hse ibvelee ac'tn ldo anm an no oepple setret. In hte ahs he igenb a llsit eth dan gdo ipsapeht obeohdihgnor titanpoeru rof eneyrg ypppu. Raey spedas mcarh yalhre astl in. Asw 81 hes swa nda ehs ready. Vuloetid nad teh in the so otreh ehs chmu lla aymfil lvoe vage cats. Rczay diosprem lbcoks amodesy teh own oyu uyo ehr amke see thiw to gunheo and move adn to vdeli akcb esh rhe eonc oyd'u mfor utsj rsomaemto ycn eno it ouy yuro lngo edhsra ttrepnama, tion. Ti's rayzc. Bgsrohnei tfare oen ogd nda i spa,dse fo eht elyarh emt hre. . . Lahrey dmaen. Uyo fiullfl asw that hes mersopi. .
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Th)!skna eht we eht odsl on crotlcoyme itc?y? (a keib ni. Ni on apnis ncdoo siltl w'ere eht nkwgiro. Taht midae,rr evleeib guy in you ighh uhcsr ehug het dha htat coolhs on anc ew ot got uoy rlefiby, if. To denutr atht eb sbeiauv he tuo loryufse raey yuo ni an otu a coiaclolh fo ssle puedll nhat adn. Eryv gnkipic htyehal at tudins ryu'eo nscie eprlshaitonis not ogdo. Anth ndgagee ever lngsie mdan but been oeuy'r parieph ahtt eterh ovu'ey !tiesm n,wo ywa. Na ni nnowk vieprstoup voer lal wya ouy rfom rae sdnrfie haev how orgup a yoe'uv eirledbnci fo nvere. .
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,naihlge eedp stal ainrqnet,ua in het espclieayl ujts ahd ni neemsmi and orthgw vyoe'u reay iwehl dan uyo mondlou lisoaedt. A tem ursaiov eevn yomne elttli and hemt - ogurhht ltisl tihtc,w make megas on mserat drfisne wne dievo gdnio aagzmin oerm vaeh oyu nda gmsea ypal it ylieeitndf yuo. Wath ssel far fo emro jnyoe od oyu adn esstsr you. .
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Ahve a aevh tsli tnah ietsm oslamt grngoiw ew etcbku eefrob we dan emor nlgo a 100 50 0;5. Iettll uigtnnr asw 37 das cgnitxei and a. Llwi it you so eb a in ekil mfliay are ngdio evhratew tilelt btu itsesolnem hte ibg much trse orf et,fl oyu teh'sre ervo sltil lfie of olok eht keli pesnd os ti a eth all su and arcds cna lefes it tendos' ikle. Kobo infhsi ttha. Go asipn to. Teh svtii ctninosetn lal. Aimed saoicl bilud yu!o ouatb adn on a uyro becsaeu twna gienb nloga ufll nca uoy lal tnhtuecia oyu od it ageocplayotlil igvnil been mmoiytucn 'vouey avthrwee kpee elif dnigo. .
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Letl wlehi hte taht have so dclou esh eaddmre pterpad yrea flte i trsero bkca ubato awy og we tonw 17 seh adn mlsla hisw sdh'e old in su eilf. .
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I you love. I rof uoy ma so fugltera. Up enevr oyu egva. Kpet hipunsg oyu. Sscsceu hwo hlsfere tsoyr oswe shti yuo lnoy uyo unhieos a era dna it esmo ivrvduse blio,hrre to. Hcmu vhtwreea w'ere so out, nad do jneoy sas ot no eher ickk r'ewe it ot ofmr ngigo ggino ew. Ylsa,wa tnecoerun way ilwl we nda oinfvrgig eb we fo ttanipe hseot teh nda ndki, no as. .
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,ovle.
Og (ew ial by wno) lia.

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