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...

Uoy emos ndaewt gto ggtsrelu, a)gehndc you nad btu hvgntreyie (uhthgo idd !it you oipiiserrt. .
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Vlie we od in tnnmaahta. Ochlos neo uesbaec adn ouhtght csspuoai juts sotl yuo okcbsl ot ahd readsch to rdga atprnemta nstuid - hwen dan ahd ehart irgdun a elpuco in vdile ew a ouy vhea aevle het seoph yuo useo,gogr aamteptnr dna sunny tmerka teh kroeb ormf eavle oyu uyro yuo yoru daerms het tyci the. O,rrsy butao yreev tbu you yda hnkti od ltsil hmi aotslm im'. Oyu igana vn'htea ot him lstil eonskp. A won twhi yabb e'hs reramdi. Tlo wiht in atth keil a orwend oyu bauto eurutf nebe ti tawh ahve oduwl oyu. Ltsa 10 asyre taht yuo imh eewr uyo to eprvo gritny eth npesd ryhwot ot. Wree lwasay uyo. Be you oyu oyu tath eovl htohtug no eh rudop neouyjr moeosen epvor tub adn mhi aecbme rogwn fo yrtlu nca oaubt ot woh er,we. So so you lowud eb dporu. So oyu ear ruodp. .
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Orme a ouy twire lto. (taimuosib, a vnelo nad nad ryopet rtaedst tbu a you heva aeorp w'neetr wys?laa) krco we eitrw. Ubt olag a u,hpldiebs eyt is't sillt ton. Ountc atht o,lrugma enrve idd eadm c,noe ouy as oyu mlauor,g bosiimsusn dsoeund hanrtemig ddi os eotrw wtier yeht( a rfo errcae thta ofr keli luishbp ccta)helnyli you iberf a tbu a 'lwle of. Csoial a nerev dxe,ties for on iemda in iknogwr iseamsv yncaomp echt inedgima a gitanmrke ouy ni cunglsnito ue'roy apth. Elvo oyu it. Rea roecswkro samtr cyibidenrl piuvosterp oyur nda. Pealc voietarf ycnutarsa - wno yuo aescebu rowk acll eids tge ryou of fomr twih uyo to mnaatptre the by m,enpadic uroy het oyru ldunomo -. .
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Tllis ndurao omounld si. Eb adn aebt mmesru ceancr 12 shit eh lwil. No na erttse eh's dlo man ppeloe iveelbe nact' eth. Irogeobhdhno gnreye ni eapsipht sah neibg eh nda a pypup for hte uotierpatn eht isltl odg. In eray tlsa rhacm adepss hyelra. 18 she nad she asw ydare swa. Eth acts hte she and vldtoieu ni cmhu erhot elvo lal evag mialfy os. Yoru ihwt hse ot het od'uy hre oyu sjut mdoeays cny and ampr,eattn cbka iotn ehadsr uyo ese cnoe ormf ot akem it rodesipm you hre retomaosm glno kbolsc adn rzyac one ievdl now eghuon eomv. Acyzr ts'i. Fo ehr ahelyr and odg mte ,psdeas i atrfe teh eon sebhngori. . . Anedm ylhera. Atht seh ifflllu aws roepsmi uyo. .
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Ity??c eht ni kibe sold (a on we cyreomtlco hte khsa!tn). Iltsl cdono apnsi no reew' nrogwik in the. Hsoclo uoy hatt to ahd rmer,ida uchrs het no ebieevl we in eugh yug if fi,reylb ahtt cna yuo hhgi otg. An olrusfey eusaibv uot out lelpud ihooccall dna a ouy ot eh sels in eyar rtduen eb tahn fo ttah. Vrey tno at rloinessphita iencs eylhhta ouey'r ntusid npgikic ogdo. Iestm! ov'uye bnee awy tub reeth rvee eilgsn ipapher 'roeyu angdege anth tath dman ,now. A woh ahve eienribcdl of romf an ovippetrus uoy way lal nnokw aer vore vrnee in guopr voyu'e finerds. .
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The 'vuoye hliwe nad epde oyu in in lomdoun eiyasllcpe towghr arye stuj ,ilgehna nda adh inaqunaert, alts mmesnie idolseta. Dna ruavsio it new eitdeiflny orem gsaem eilttl ouy gnoid fsdiren slilt - enve on edivo nmyeo have aemsg lyap rtaesm a oyu hrhotgu and maagzni tme akme hc,iwtt meth. Slse yuo yuo tahw of raf eorm nda jeyno ssrtse od. .
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Rignowg 50 we erobef eorm istl dna alstom 001 a ew onlg hvea vahe ;05 ucbekt a tsmei ahnt. Asw sda a and 73 tlelit gunnrti tgciixen. Nlieesmtos het of so cmuh big efil tbu lyaimf a are like dpens hte fseel etsr ilstl hesrte' it it kolo liwl us anc reov lettli eilk yuo all uyo leki so sdarc be 'etdnos ti a dan eht rfo t,efl in evtrwaeh gdnoi. Shnfii bkoo ttah. To psina go. Vsiit ttosneninc lla the. Btuoa gdnio ubild gniilv fiel nloag do eepk twan eiaptolcgllaoy eben rveaehwt no uyo tacetinuh yuor fllu a it eesubca begin lcoais ameid all !you iummyntco nad can o'eyuv ouy. .
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So ew loucd bkac het ayer esh depptra efli seh and abtuo htat left nwot aveh ardmdee ltle awy su wish ni go wlhie sed'h dlo asllm 17 rortse i. .
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I velo yuo. Ma i oyu glftuare orf so. Yuo veern geav up. Sinughp kpte oyu. Ouy oystr isht and sewo a lrhfees lnoy ti rea owh uoy uirsvdev some nsoehui to usscces ,blreohri. Eew'r hree mrfo 'erew to ,uot umhc we dna oynje ggoin nggoi hrewavte to ass on od so it kikc. On ttneaip y,aalws nda fo ew be as eht ohest way eotruennc ggfoirvni kdin, ew dna liwl. .
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,elov.
Ew( ail lai on)w by og.

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