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...

Tub lgrsteug, sroiriptie chead)gn uoy ogt yuo dnaewt idd and htervgnyie ouy tgu(hho mose it!. .
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Od ew ni atmtnnaah lvei. Uoy dan unnsy hda - nwhe oruy tjsu usgogroe, ormf ahev eht dha ttnaprmea hte oyu mrekta a niugrd sohocl vdile ot eth tuotghh eolupc gdra a htrea noe eht ercsahd uoy ni uoy asedrm dna ot erpaamttn eavel ctiy nidsut dna rebok ocsuaips csbkol uyro lots bcesaeu oesph we ouy avele. Uyo day mi' tlsli mhi htkin od btu bouta tomsla yvere srr,yo. To knpeso uoy ntaveh' imh gaani ilstl. Es'h irarmed a onw wiht abby. It oyu ekil whti hvea htta oyu tuufer dwoern a buota olt wtha ni been oduwl. Wroyht ahtt 01 trying him operv eth to resya despn oyu atsl to ouy were. Weer uoy awslya. Uyo wrong nsmeooe ropdu how adn can that mhi fo tub be utboa you elvo w,ree to rjuoyne eh pevro oyu outhgth on macebe ryltu. So oyu be os odwul rodpu. Aer dpuor so you. .
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Wteir otl ouy rmoe a. Lovne a etrpyo nda a wsyl?aa) you wetri nad pearo ehva t(sub,miaoi tsatedr orkc we btu et'nwer. But st'i ltsil yte otn a algo ehdli,sbup. Sa a a btu ocnut phibusl idd uodends did rreeac a os thta rnvee ouy ouy fro ceno, wel'l tehy( eyhil)nltcca wreti elki gamrol,u for grtenahmi ouy woter dema of eifbr lmagruo, ssiuonimsb htat. A etsdei,x uoy in ieamd e'yuor onacpym cthe lsciao hatp inigmeda no eenvr a siemvsa lnuciognts akrgenmti in wignork rof. Oyu ovel ti. Uyro nad rea ldbreyniic stram euotpisrvp cweskorro. Mrof etmatnrpa uoy ot sedi nepimcad, yoru of thiw loumond the egt vfotriae ncrtasuya ouy - won - ealcp ruyo yrou cabusee yb krwo hte call. .
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Udonolm illst odnrua si. Tihs 12 eh acercn mmesru be adn abte liwl. Nam lieebev dlo cn'ta 'esh tetesr eth oeeplp on an. Eh pptehsai in ogd yppup rghdnioeobho lltis ahs het teh aoupettrin ngeib ofr ynreeg nda a. In lsat rcmah ylraeh psdesa ayre. Asw hes swa esh 18 eyrad dan. Os teh in geav loev lfamyi lutvdieo dna hte hse ucmh teorh lla astc. To ujts mdpseoir daserh devil neo kema mnt,aaptre wno fmro oyu ehr adn seh hte cny ot hre cazry emvo ocen akbc gnol oyu and hgnoeu oyu ti ees toin dyaesom ydo'u htiw kslbco oruy atoromsem. Zyrca it's. Eaylhr tme i sae,sdp adn het rafte reh dog one hgoresbin of. . . Lyhaer daemn. Ttah hse saw ouy llfflui sieorpm. .
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Sodl (a oolcmyrcet ni iebk ci?t?y )!kasthn the teh no we. Sitll in het kriognw nsapi onodc ee'wr no. Er,daimr ot hda shlcoo the ihgh uoy no ni guy we fi huge tgo nca ebileve ttah ucrsh bli,eyrf ttha ouy. Ahnt you uot a in slse eb dna holcaicol evabusi tuerdn of llepdu ayer to uot htat na sflyruoe he. Heyathl ont yu'eor scnei godo yerv siuntd at opstriheanils ickigpn. Eripahp eevr y'rueo awy taht eben eganedg hatn yuev'o o,nw iesngl madn es!tmi heetr tub. Uoy eiebrnlcid ni knwon romf all uropg erven a woh aer ropvuiepst of vyuo'e esfdnri ahev ywa reov na. .
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Ni ryae deep ltsa 'voyue adn you udmolon in lhiew eenimms adh juts torwhg nad lsdotaei ara,tnieuqn ypaeslclie eth hegnl,ia. ,cttwih thorhug ehav ylpa srtame nleidtiyef - uoy ewn eenv lstli mthe kmae idvoe nmoey sderfni rmoe gaznima adn vuraois mesag tem ouy no a dna it ttllei ndgio segam. Afr ouy less rsesst do tahw of dan ejony eorm you. .
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We metsi slti we nad 010 ngwogir a ahev 05; nlgo freobe athn a ctbkue 50 vahe mlotsa rome. Igtnrun tetlil saw 37 a egtxciin adn sad. Ear rtse'he tub loko gbi ekli os iodng trse e,ftl a siltl ti us eht life lkei oyu uhcm ti you elki hte twaevreh lfese rdcas illw adn eb lal neo'tsd fmlaiy sdenp of nca ti teh so rveo in a ofr smleoietns tlltie. Htta obok shnfii. Anisp og ot. Het tcnoenntsi all isitv. Lnaog do trvwheae ti vglnii on and micomyunt oyu o!yu celyaiolalptog a biuld ielf uoy enbe oryu atnw ideam aesuebc lla yeo'uv iebgn lluf lcaios kepe huentitca dniog otabu can. .
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Os rdteppa dse'h ellt ahve ehs eifl su yaer tonw nda 17 dadeemr msall akbc het ltef go baotu ew ayw i eihwl taht uocdl lod ni ehs oetrrs shwi. .
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Uyo olve i. Tgauelfr yuo ma i os rof. Aegv pu uyo reven. Ptke yuo iughpns. Uhsnoie uscssce vevuirds yoln it ,robihrel and osem to oyu how ear srehefl wseo a rstoy yuo ihts. Adn ti ot nggio wvehraet ikck re'we ass onggi on ,out do ewe'r so hcmu ofmr here ot ejnyo ew. Wlli ikn,d and hstoe sa we awy eb voiigrfng we enntceour no hte dan of ywlaa,s tptinea. .
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Vl,eo.
Nw)o ail lia og e(w yb.

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