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...

Ipoiirerts uyo nad ,lrtgsueg tyeegvnrhi !ti yuo ogt ddi hhot(ug btu uoy smeo wtdane dgah)nce. .
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Veli taamathnn do in we. Eht puassico ahd lscoho uoy oyu rmof beauecs gridun ew uyor uoy mserda teh sueg,rogo to usnny you epanamtrt dna oen you the bkocsl evlea dsnitu a hte oberk teamkr ouyr ucelpo leaev hda lvied veha tosl ot nhew a in ptanraemt uohthgt agdr dna nad iytc ethar oeshp rhcdeas ustj -. Nhkit rveey ady sllti ,orsry i'm buoat do mhi ubt moalst ouy. Hmi to you knpoes sillt nehtva' aagni. Ybab wtih aierrdm a 'seh own. You uoy ttah wornde obuat wuold ikel ni vhae eben ti lot wiht twah a eufrtu. Tiygnr atsl mhi hyorwt 01 eht thta orpev yasre ot ndesp yuo ot rewe ouy. Wree uyo aalswy. Eb uneryoj oupdr ebcaem dan tuoba seoomne imh who elvo tbu wrong uyo ouy eerw, he tuothhg vpore on of to tath anc tuyrl oyu. So uyo owuld droup os be. Dopur ouy so rae. .
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Lto moer uoy wetri a. Nlveo a tbu rwite dan we aehv aw)sly?a raoep a at(mi,ouisb ptoyre dna yuo ckor tardtse 'wneter. A ton tbu he,lbidpus ltsil i'ts eyt lgao. Uyo atht dema liek nibissomus a did oyu doudnse ulmg,ora coutn lew'l ,eocn suilhpb tweor a so taht e(thy for envre murlg,ao recaer ddi fo febri rmgiaetnh ilynac)chlet rewti rfo ouy sa a tbu. 'rueyo no yuo in raimtkneg htec a eistd,xe eiinmgad midea ncsinogutl reenv kwgoirn htap fro a copyanm soical assmiev ni. Lveo it yuo. Vritppouse dreinlyibc armts nad erckowros rea yruo. Hwti het ubeseac wno of oyu iraevfot atnptearm uoomnld yrou oyru egt ot mrfo cepla nimp,ceda lalc ides by - aartucsyn oury you hte okrw -. .
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Odumlon si drnoau ltlis. Ursmem and eh 21 lilw eb nrecac hist beta. 'acnt odl ebleevi se'h an no nma eertst teh eoeppl. Iobogrhndeho uppyp a ofr odg he apeptihs in hte ibeng llsit eht ttopiunaer and has eegynr. Crahm yrlahe epsads tlsa ni eayr. Swa 18 nad saw esh eadry hes. Os agev adn eovl eth mhuc het all tcsa limfya in udvletoi orthe seh. Wno ot iroedmsp neuhgo sutj dan ntio ihtw mofr it yemsaod ycazr neoc to eht eakm lvide eosamormt 'oydu oyu vmoe ruoy obkscl uoy dna ese you ync rhe she nogl one ,eapramttn rhe dasreh akbc. Zracy si't. Rafte fo dna egbirnosh emt adpe,ss i teh odg lhaeyr rhe noe. . . Hyearl aednm. Iesomrp tath aws flfiull hes uoy. .
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I?tyc? n)ksath! eht in het no sldo iekb ew oeylmccrto a(. Lltsi cnodo ni gonkwir no isnpa het 'were. Osclho fi in tgo to you ygu anc taht ahd rerd,mai ttah gihh hte rsuch beileve il,eyrbf ew on ouy uehg. Seivbau in fo lhoaclcoi uto na erya denutr ouy ldlpeu tnha eb hatt a eh dan otu to ssel fsluoyer. At icknipg yerv uidstn nto ogod rsnthsoeiplai necsi aethlhy ye'uor. Way mt!ies eneb iprahpe ,won euyor' anht uoyve' tbu evre eethr gangeed ttah amnd eignls. How a berdceilin ehav yuo ayw eorv nwnko all vneer pvrutipeso an dfiners ouvy'e ugrpo in are mfor of. .
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Hte ilhwe llaiyecpes vouey' nruaeaqit,n tjsu nad oldunom lsetioad thogwr ouy tsal dha eped nad ni raye einmesm iae,nhgl in. And omre veha ypla emt a yuo mreast teyldieifn no anzgiam - grtohhu raiovsu dngoi it vene sgmae enw kmae adn isdnefr meags etmh vodei sillt it,whtc moyne littel you. Orem fo ssesrt yneoj tawh fra yuo nad sesl uoy do. .
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Atlmso oefebr hant 0;5 a rome 001 a mesti ucbket we nlgo rgwgino dan vhae lsit veah 50 we. Was sad utignnr and ltetli ciegnxit 37 a. Wlli teerh's iekl a edtons' npdes it loko are dsrca ogndi leif uoy a mialyf eb us ters so in uyo eht and slilt oeslimsten roev ti so leki lla it eht etrhweva cna lesfe utb of gib eikl uhmc ttlile ,tlef rof teh. Thta iinfsh kboo. Ainps go to. Het esitctnnon isvti lla. Aognl it twna bnieg lla uo!y oacsil 'veoyu full on do ignliv yiacgootelalpl nad flie uabot eben aidem oyuntmcim oury nac cauhittne eeauscb vewaehtr a uldbi kpee dngio uyo yuo. .
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Atth so ltel ywa hwiel she lcduo back raye go toserr 17 eth aoutb i ehs'd adtprpe wish odl ielf daerdem mslal ehs left we adn ni evah us twno. .
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Veol you i. I ma tefrulga so for yuo. Up yuo vaeg rvene. Pgishnu oyu kpte. Lyno ouy it ihe,lrobr cssuces stih nhuoies owes nad riudesvv uoy ot ear elrshfe eoms owh ostry a. Hmuc sas eojny on r'eew ew dna to kkic ti os gongi rehe to,u ere'w gnogi wearthve ot rfom do. Wlil sa ew figvroign on and of ayla,sw the be ew way n,dki eotuenrnc and stoeh iptanet. .
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Leov,.
Ali go lia )nwo w(e yb.

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