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...

Hhogtu( dghe)nac uoy you iipeistrro esmo and hgtreyvnei dnetaw ti! btu uoy ddi got sgtl,ergu. .
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Viel do we nthnaamta ni. Rmfo hpsoe adh the eavh nad ot seahrdc uoy nhew eatrapmtn stlo mertak osbklc we otguthh dna dah iacospsu teh ryuo deilv ceesbau eht a ouyr lpcueo and uyo ouy ni to avele ouy jsut ytci arthe edmsra noe uyo nnysu ,ogerugso ooclsh tidsun npartatem rnuigd - gard het oberk levea a. Evrey do obtau amltos yda ihm 'mi iltsl htikn tub rr,syo you. Eskpon hvta'ne uyo ot mih aangi stlli. Bbay a now arrimde hwit e'hs. It ndwore tlo feturu a heva ni nebe what uoy wlduo htta ikel aotub iwht you. Yreas operv ot to eth tohyrw dsenp 10 yuo ihm tnrygi uoy eewr ahtt slat. Waslya uoy wree. To nac of vleo thuogth owh tub urpdo you ouy on htat ornwg ujnoyer eeomsno eb cebema he verop you rylut rewe, nad obtau him. So uodpr os be ouy odwul. Yuo so aer orpud. .
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You a twrie roem tlo. Etatrsd btu nvoel ernwte' ahve dan a yw?)saal wtier okcr nad epyrto oyu we a oprae ,(soaibiutm. Not lstil ist' a yte tbu gaol usehipdlb,. Ctuno a nevre oyu erreca did biref (eyht ahtt mbinussios a yuo donused of as hnmitager tbu oagmlru, lelw' rof a htat eocn, so eilk rof uyo mg,olaru suhplib trowe emda ycll)taehnci itrew did. Athp acslio inlunosgct no ouy wokngri ni sisemva imeda orf a xdi,seet e'ouyr aektgrinm yaoncpm veren a htce ni nmigdaie. Uyo velo it. Oekrwcsro your ear pupsoervti adn iecnrlbiyd asrtm. Ryuo ifrtoeva onw hte numodol you esdi ycanusart eht sbecuae tge of yoru incdp,eam alcl mrof apcel rouy - kwro with ot atnprmeat - you yb. .
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Llist udnoar lmooudn is. Tihs 12 lwil ermusm adn he cncera beat eb. Epepol on odl mna a'tcn eht an lebivee sterte 'seh. Het puypp teh tisll gynere egbin nda speapith sha a gdo rhohedgnbooi optnutiera rfo ni eh. Atls rahcm ni leahyr dsepas yare. Saw hes dyrae asw and 81 she. Ehtor esh elvo in falmiy tacs odltuiev mhuc eth teh lal agve so dna. Erh frmo oyru make losbck onw msarmteoo ,patrmtena yuo oyu'd hre dna hse ot it ees nda noce eht czyra deysoam uoy edhars wthi noe sutj ot ync move yuo bkca dsrepimo nglo ugehno tnio evdli. Cyzra sti'. Emt and eno gdo hre oierghbns rtaef eht elhrya i of ,dessap. . . Eamdn aehlry. Esh ulliflf eimrspo atth uyo aws. .
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On ew ci??yt cclrootmey !ak)hstn eht ni iebk hte (a dosl. Eht no in itlls inpsa orkginw ree'w donoc. Anc no got hsurc yuo adh ielbeev we ot yuo hgeu re,ifbly guy oochls ni r,eidrma the gihh htat if htat. Nda to lseyfuro eb eh out ayre uoy rtudne hant an pudell sels otu a hatt in ocalcohli fo aeusibv. Ta rvey htyelha ipkcing doog otn seinc lshpoeinarits ryu'oe tusndi. Btu now, evre atnh atht eebn !tmise mnad neagedg uy'oer vye'uo ppaiher way rehet lniseg. Who rea pvitrueops never nedisfr ofrm vaeh ecreidilbn na rveo ywa vyeu'o oyu kwnon all rugop a in fo. .
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Ni tsal dan vo'uey ndmoulo nad eht lwihe edep htrwgo tinarequa,n ni sjut uoy hlena,gi dah nmmiese liasetdo ilyseclaep yrae. Oruiasv oyu nda ogndi tme ehmt orme itlinyefed no myone ltietl - yuo ltisl nda odvei tmresa ylap meka it heav zinaamg a idefsnr even enw aegms amsge hhgrout hwict,t. Fo do essstr twha uoy emro rfa and nyjoe yuo ssel. .
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Hvae a mstie ew tanh remo alsomt ltsi 010 dan freeob gwoinrg tecbku ahve 50 ew a glon ;50. Sda tunrngi icngtiex 37 nda asw llttie a. Ttelli os ti itsolesemn so mfilay fo ,tfle scadr be lkie lal illw ear ete'srh acn in ervo a yuo nds'eot ilke kolo the het flie ti athvreew a odgni setr tub oyu dsepn sitll eikl it us uchm rof het dan bgi fesel. Okob fisnhi hatt. Og to inpsa. Ncitnotsne eht lal tivsi. Lla dna do miade bene lonag oleoagiptaclyl tawn you oyu retewavh begin yrou a eceusba 'veoyu gilvni ytnmomuci no uibld btaou it oyu! iefl can cnttaihue pkee lflu gndio ilosca. .
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In ellt eth eyra nad obatu ahtt hes hs'ed so i lcduo wihs awy ew veah rmaeedd odl ilfe felt su 71 ratepdp rsreot go wnto esh sllam bakc weihl. .
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I lveo ouy. Ma os i rof ratueglf uoy. Aevg enevr pu you. Ouy epkt shpuign. Ruivveds ot bio,rrhel uyo rtyos rae flhsere hits a dna eussccs it ensiohu nloy ouy hwo soew oesm. Ot rehe so mhuc nda rwee' rw'ee ckik hevtrewa enjyo morf no gigno it do to we ass tu,o gongi. Tanpiet irnofiggv ncrtnoeeu of dan lwil no adn eht eb ,knid ew as etsho aawsy,l we way. .
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Vle,o.
Ow)n og we( yb ail ail.

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