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...

)ehnadcg ouy idd adn eandwt ierytnhegv itrsopeiir gerlugt,s otg i!t ouy tbu hthgou( oyu eosm. .
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Do ew aahmatntn vlie ni. Nehw a adh capossiu ni nda uoy teh hte ctyi oyu one ahrte uryo idlev dersam eavh uroy aueebcs ntidus oohcsl chaesrd juts hte dna olts rfom marenttpa dgar you ysunn boslck aveel gnirud gesorugo, ot a uoy ew antpeamrt ogtthuh ouy teamrk - hda and uelocp psheo levae ot eht breok. Mih sltamo istll ,syror boatu im' do hknti yuo yad vyeer but. Oyu e'hantv stlil iagan hmi nksope to. A bbay onw she' earidrm thwi. Neeb tlo it a twih odlwu furteu uyo you rwedon in autbo wtah taht vhae kile. Het ot whrtyo erwe to oyu 10 hmi tignry uoy htta vorep dsnpe earsy tsla. Rwee aawysl ouy. Woh hutotgh utboa ebmace on eb tath he ropdu ubt ejyunro urtly imh uyo olev adn nogrw nac mesneoo eopvr eerw, you to of ouy. Uoy odulw so be os odrup. Os are you urpod. .
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A otl remo uyo etwir. A a,(umoisibt aeorp you dan voenl weren't ockr tierw dan vahe etopry tbu sardtte we ?alsyw)a a. Eyt gaol a lesd,hiupb ont utb ti's lslit. A os emda ekli ibref a rietw hlpbusi ,rgloamu yuo oncut enevr tghmrniea did utb sa oyu lewl' a fro acreer ocn,e yeth( rfo unesddo thta did ibsniusmso um,gralo ouy of ertow e)llcticaynh hatt. No you lacios a ofr ehct semasvi iigmaden in ni ,sedxtei erenv yamnpco oikwrgn aiemd iteranmgk cuonnsgilt athp a ur'yoe. It uyo voel. Edibrclnyi stmra ocroskerw era irtupvsope ouyr dna. Santruacy by ryou ryuo subecae orwk oruy lmdonuo pdmeinc,a get taerfivo - own rfmo ecpal pattnmera of uyo twhi ot uoy allc sdei - eht teh. .
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Lslit is omdulno rundao. Crneca 21 he muesrm nda eatb llwi be ihts. Old ehs' an leoepp tertse cnta' nam vbileee on hte. Sah a dog he erngey ingeb the ouranitept tlisl ypppu ihatepsp eht orf nad ihrgooehondb in. Lsat mrcah dpssae aery in ylrhae. Hes dna asw seh wsa 18 ydrae. Eovl lla ehs aegv ni hoetr eht ltevduio so hte hcum and flimya csta. Eno soomertam oneguh oyu rmfo oryu ese okblsc moev dan utjs oyu adn ldvei coen hes nwo it onlg hareds arzyc dyou' nmta,preta eth ouy rieompds meak erh oitn hre nyc eayosmd to bcka to hiwt. Cryaz 'its. Ornibehgs etm adn eht dses,ap one i of ehr ehaylr gdo eratf. . . Aheryl eandm. Yuo lfllufi hes tath eoprmsi swa. .
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Biek ctiy?? kathsn)! in hte ew teh on dols mlcoryotce a(. Ni dcnoo no litsl ispan krongiw reew' hte. Yuo dah ygu ni eblivee the ew to no thta anc iblefry, got ihhg ed,rarmi sruch uegh you if ocohsl ahtt. To he cohclaoil esavbiu nuedtr lpeldu in fo a otu you uto atht an arey eb lsse adn orselufy ntah. Igncpki ogod nto ehhytal yver yuoer' heilpssioartn at icens dtiuns. Tub pahirpe awy eu'vyo lisgne ggedane bene ,now vere hatn htat amnd mti!se yeuor' eehtr. Indesfr way how are pgour in ipsurtpeov all onknw uoy over an vrene iclieebdnr of eavh eyv'ou a rofm. .
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And eth aioedtsl ,ilheang aruntea,nqi towgrh sipelylcae mnmiese pede and ahd ni wehli in ustj ouy ldmonuo uv'oey reya stla. Dan gmase reatsm oerm nmoey htem a yuo still c,wthit throguh tem srauivo tiletl idevo nwe you vnee dan amek - asmge zaigman onigd ti veha eideltfyni lapy on fnrdsie. Rtsses oemr nad rfa sesl joeyn athw do you yuo fo. .
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Lsamto ew dan erom imset a ehva oeebfr ew tsli a 50 0;5 aveh lnog tahn utebck 100 grwngoi. Ietltl iecnxgti nungrti das a 73 adn was. Us ni sdrac eht llwi a lkei ofr ouy of yifalm ti os it ehaverwt ltsil flsee so es'thre ondgi be nes'dot nad hmcu kile sdpen ifel eth tltile rest stnemielos kolo all anc you ekli a ,telf aer teh btu gbi reov ti. Kobo iihsnf atht. Ot nsapi go. All ntctenniso eht vitsi. Easeubc uoy it efil oyu've tereawhv on wtan uonmicmty uoy vnlgii yrou uy!o a cna bludi uhttienac iadme liscoa gnibe nebe lluf lgaon nad uotab ytlaollpieocag lal do ingdo ekep. .
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Lefi in adermed ew aotub ahev flte ontw awy hte us tppdaer back hes sotrre ilwhe ehs htta yrea 71 and uoldc lalsm i ltel go swih old os es'hd. .
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I velo uyo. So ma rof aregtlfu oyu i. Uyo evner aevg pu. Uhnpgis ouy epkt. Hsti a owh uccsess onyl ti uyo inuoesh aer to wseo ,hreioblr dna yorts rvevidsu eshelfr yuo some. Whtevrae no eyjno sas ioggn ree'w ew od ot 'erwe humc ti gogin morf ,otu nda kcik eher so ot. Iantpte dna eth lilw of coenrentu as nda rfgogivin ywa lys,aaw no ,nidk we toesh we eb. .
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Ove,l.
Go o)nw by ali lia (ew.

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