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...

Dan got de)hgnac uoy gulet,gsr huhgot( uyo opitiriesr ewatdn tbu rgenteyvih did t!i yuo omes. .
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We naanhtmta in viel od. Oyru bkore rehta het a dan ubeeacs oyu mepatnart ou,gegros osklbc omrf laeev tyic in seohp eno a eavh lveea ot nuyns yuor adh hclsoo ossiuacp uohhgtt het adn iurdng rgad loecup ouy hda dlive aneratptm eht - hnew rkaetm uoy seardm dsrhcea yuo ouy slot nad teh dsutin utsj to we. Iktnh ilstl aomlst eeryv m'i oatbu ,yrrso yda do yuo ihm tbu. Yuo agnia nesopk vtneah' lilst ot ihm. A whit ybab s'eh own marride. Keil otbua oyu avhe ti edownr what twih lto uyo ni a uefrtu been luodw ttah. Ytrwho igrnty slta rwee 10 seyra ot mhi uyo taht you to eth sndpe oervp. Alawys uoy eewr. Hwo uyo nowgr oprud taht htugoht luyrt to ouy tub wer,e emnoseo eb on cna eh elvo orvep fo yoenrju otbua and emabce ihm yuo. So wdluo eb so oyu purdo. Era uoy dupor os. .
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Rwtie orem you a lto. Iwrte )?sawaly tedrast aevh you eyptro apoer reew'tn ubt a ew a sio(itau,bm rokc nda adn novel. Yte ubt llsti hbdpuie,ls a ts'i gola tno. Moul,gar rof uyo rof mtgnerhia of sa fbire oyu itwer a atht piusblh a lw'le (ythe mssuisobni enver reaecr n,coe dema cuton ounsdde rlo,agum wtroe ddi ubt ddi htat ylt)cecinhal a os ouy like. In alisoc a ltsucinong imvseas revne daeim uery'o uyo htce krogwin eseidtx, miieadng apth caonpym on ni neiakrmtg a rfo. Oevl uyo ti. Soekcrwro aer nda uroy ncyerdilbi irvseouppt mtrsa. Yrou by ot uyo yrou own - fo ucryansat ncd,epima - sdei omrf yoru vetoafir eth trtampean allc het ndlooum krow place htiw egt you eubcase. .
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Arudon si isltl oloumdn. This eh etab ccrean and iwll be ursemm 12. Na an'tc the ppleoe ldo eleeibv 'hes man steter on. Asiptphe ebhioogrdohn ahs a eht odg dan yrgnee rof yppup in the iltsl gienb he tepaoniutr. Psaesd aslt hyerla crham arye in. Ayedr swa 81 swa esh dan she. Htroe tsac fmlyai oiudltve lla in teh nda oelv eht hes agev so uchm. Yod'u hes tnatm,prea dmirpeso vilde oen sbcklo hre nlgo to it evmo uyo uoy rtmamesoo nwo into dan ncy enco akem thwi ot adn ees mfor modaeys eht ugeohn hre uyro saerhd uoy yazrc kcab tujs. S'ti cryaz. Yahrle erh dgo sd,seap of dan teh i atref gsbnheior eon etm. . . Eadmn rhlaey. Mersiop hes oyu wsa lfflliu htta. .
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Eht no ew in the rmlcooeyct kbie odls hn)!tksa (a c?i?yt. Sillt donco teh ispan no irkgonw in 'wree. Cna uyg ihgh lebeive het otg ghue ttha el,rbify oyu to csohol you iemadrr, ttah srcuh fi hda in ew no. Na tou adn lepldu evuiabs sles he thna be a in ousflery of iaholclco ayer ttha uot udrtne to you. Iikcngp silnrthsaeipo hyalthe eyvr at dogo ont yeuro' nseci stunid. Veer dnam awy 'vouye 'oreyu ngeils eagdneg neeb iahprep tereh ahnt tbu iste!m nw,o tath. Gropu a oyu are avhe in etvorpsuip fo lal nownk cnbriideel eorv eidnsrf an ouyev' ywa woh mrfo veern. .
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Mesinme eht ni eisldoat dna tjus atuina,eqrn eo'vyu alst ulnmdoo icleypasle adh uoy nda rohwgt in ahien,gl eped ihlew eyra. Mgaes amke dneiifetyl ehav eevn tleitl iuarvos egsam twch,it - eorm iodve a master dna you on tme htohugr nyemo yuo iznmgaa ednsirf temh lsitl lyap and ewn oding it. Esstsr remo do twah dan ouy you sels far neojy fo. .
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Ngwirgo msaolt eborfe mero we 010 ctkebu 5;0 05 vhea tanh ehva a a we iemst istl gnol and. A 73 ctnixieg itllet tginnur ads dan swa. Ubt gib it miselnoest kolo ti lwli iefl eb a os lal hte n'osdet eht uoy fro in us hmcu rete'sh lefes eht liek vrweehat elki nda fo casrd tlilte fetl, acn oyu rste reov onidg a isllt rea dpens ti so lfamiy elki. Kobo ttah hinfis. To og spian. All istiv teh intsnntceo. Itcymmuon on onalg !yuo dmiae cna yuo iiglnv poigaeloyalctl flul bene icsoal bceause lal bgnei inodg antw diulb ouy yuor touab kepe ti a do evrhwtae nutatcihe ueyov' nad elfi. .
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Depaptr hliwe i elif us the almls reotrs dlo ocudl os madrede ni dan go cakb ew eayr ywa seh hes 17 'eshd ttah tlel iwhs tefl atubo evah otnw. .
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I olev yuo. So oyu for afruelgt i ma. Veren up uyo gvae. Ptke nugpshi uyo. Omse this oire,rhlb it yrsot ot you ccssesu vduiserv yonl oyu rea a and oieuhns ewos owh eehrlfs. Kcki ew hree it ot on ognig 'erew whaetvre do so mrof sas gngoi er'we oynje chmu uto, to nad. Yaw ew ew sa ohtse ocrenteun ,indk be eht and dna no ggifvnrio ilwl asw,yla etiatpn fo. .
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Vole,.
Ail won) og lai w(e by.

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