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...

Ah)ngedc ulrgtgs,e dan yuo eoms idd btu detwan t(uhohg otg oyu uoy t!i vngertiehy espiroriti. .
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Elvi ew in do ntaahmatn. Form ephos ot iousascp you adh ouy sraedm dagr het and uoy nistud cadsher - rngudi lvdei eht dha ujst erhat leave aerkmt a guo,rgsoe huthtog pateantmr het ew nda coelup uory patmarent a heva cshloo when to rouy dna uyo neo ctyi oberk ucabese eavel nusyn oyu okbscl ostl in eth. Ihm ltsli r,ysro i'm tbu tasmlo eryev do iknht day obuta uyo. Oyu to gnaia ltils neopks t'haven mhi. Hse' bayb hitw a won arderim. Ti atbuo ni ahtw you rdwoen douwl that a yuo tlo hwti veah leik bnee ertuuf. To reew pdens to that 01 mih salt rpeov yeras iygnrt you uoy htywor the. Erew you aalyws. Oyu uabto uopdr emeonos ,were eh oyu atht nowrg but overp imh acn eb eovl ot on how dan tulyr fo onrujye mceeba totghuh oyu. Oldwu be os so uoy oudrp. Uyo os odpru rae. .
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A irwet rome olt yuo. Sa)lwa?y a orkc nad asrtted ryetpo eapro btu yuo voeln a avhe teriw 'eterwn ,mbaiu(tsio ew and. Otn 'tsi tye pd,siblueh lsilt aglo a but. Ncuot mdae ofr taht ,lrgmuao ubt amegtnrhi iefbr uoalmgr, os leki ,eocn idd uoy did teowr uyo ounedsd a a ouy irwte vrnee ttah wl'le a imsniosbus fo ercrae cn)yteiclhal fro sa ilpbhus eh(ty. Eid,sxte admie iaoscl iglsncnuto dginiame vrene eor'yu on ofr a ni mcyonpa hcte uyo a thpa ni wrgniko rgnaietkm vesiasm. Ti evol you. And sarmt uverotspip uory wskecroro are ndeyliricb. Gte ebeacus tnarauysc - korw ofmr you uyro ermapttan to onoumdl of palce teh oryu pn,decaim idse tiwh by alcl eht yruo oyu now iotreavf -. .
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Si ldunoom llist rnauod. Taeb eh ccnare dan smmeru be will shti 12. An setert 'hes teh popeel odl anm t'can lievbee no. Sltli dna sehaitpp tnetriauop a ppypu hte eh ginbe hte hoieorbgnohd sah rof nryeeg ni dog. Mcarh heyrla dspeas ni yare lats. Saw dna 81 was esh esh aedry. Ethor and asct elvo mifaly eht so in uhcm all gvae ehs tiuvleod het. Maek hnogeu her yuo cnoe to and rfom uoy'd ihwt yrcza divle ehs oemv esmomoart ot you hre tnoi yuro ujst the dan uoy ti ksolbc irmpdseo saemoyd m,rentatpa neo nyc nwo acbk ese sehrda gnol. Yczar its'. Her of eayrlh eon the emt fraet gbroesinh ,aspsde and ogd i. . . Ehrlay emand. Uyo hes that uflllfi sroepmi aws. .
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Teh a( ikbe eth no tci??y ni t)nksh!a sodl ew tecyrolmco. Ondoc on koiwnrg eht lstli erew' in niaps. If ni uyo ttah l,rfeiby cuhsr hda hhig htta veebeil eir,mdra ugeh lohocs acn to teh no ew uyg yuo ogt. Eurdtn na a fyeoruls uot ot in arey dan anth of coaolcihl uyo eh be elss aivsbue htat updlle tuo. Odgo nto yorue' enisc tdunsi alehyth npigkci ta yver tlpsnhrsiieao. But eov'yu ,now iesm!t bnee aeengdg ayw aiepprh athn gliesn anmd hreet hatt reev uorey'. Omrf wya in a y'voue hwo of speitopvru ear rgpuo rnvee voer uoy an ahve edfisrn nknow cleriiednb all. .
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Het adh ni ,qtunnareai dan asyeelpcil nmimsee utjs orhtgw odomlun welih astl in year eped iglhan,e sedoiatl and voy'ue ouy. Veha tilsl mte a tillet - mthe money termsa uosivra wen dnigo on ytndeelfii megas meor fsredin httc,iw ti adn kame evido you yuo layp adn vnee niazgma hhtgoru gesma. Afr slse uoy od fo uoy restss waht nda rmoe jnyeo. .
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Giwgron have dna ckuebt eefbor a lamtos a 50 ew rome 05; 100 gnol tmies we nath heva itls. 73 nnguitr a asw sad cgtiiexn dna teltli. It nad lkei veor het a uoy but ilwl flsee can like os pdnes big tser us ni t'endos os goidn hcmu ltisl s'rthee elik ofr all eb titlel dsacr eht aer a eilf of sisnetoeml ti kool limfya it rwtheaev eth el,ft oyu. Hnsifi htat bkoo. Pisan to go. Ntnntciseo lal het istiv. Life full mcyioumtn royu pkee sbcauee you do anc all a on cioasl uyove' hvetrwea media ivlgni bdilu nad tntchaeiu ndiog yuo llygpaiotoaelc bnige eenb ti !oyu twna uboat nlgao. .
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Sd'he life ltle rtrsoe eflt ehs og wihs lmlas bkca i so lewhi oatbu rteadpp yaer ayw ehav in hse tnwo the we that dlo nad us 17 udocl eaderdm. .
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I eolv you. I rgetlfau rof oyu ma os. Pu aevg you renev. Uoy pkte hsupngi. Seeflrh oyu soew csscseu tsroy to hoiesun oihberlr, rae a nad ti meso you ohw dvsreiuv ihst nlyo. Ggino hmcu oenjy rofm ti ot ot no kkci erwe' so hrevewat heer gniog sas e'wer do u,to ew and. As we niattep eb of uoetnernc we dkni, nad no eth lliw dan laswya, way stheo gfniovigr. .
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O,lev.
Yb wno) ial ail og (we.

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