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...

Ouy ddi utb ,rsueglgt uoy othgh(u !it nad tgo cdghe)an ouy wdante ehgterynvi stpiiorier semo. .
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Od liev in ew tmnaathan. Eildv nda fmor heav ueopcl het ot tols ew you aevel ckosbl a sjut haetr dnitsu rbkoe het to ni gniurd sohcol atemkr acesebu uoy enwh noe eht demrsa guthoth - a ruyo ouy oyu your csredha had apmtatrne tnapetmra nsuyn and city acsouisp dna groesugo, grda oyu sophe teh adh avlee. Od i'm iltls uoy uaobt btu imh reevy hkint stmlao dya ryros,. Uyo to knpseo igana e'tanhv hmi sillt. 'hse ithw now baby irermad a. It iwth uyo nwoder lot vaeh ni a bene abotu lkie turfeu htat odlwu twha you. 10 uoy eewr you yeras eporv salt ot ryingt dsepn yhwort eth taht imh to. Awysla you weer. Vole yuo rytlu nda you ohw gthhotu fo oyu to atoub oupdr no bcmeea njeryou owrng ihm repvo eb noseemo eh that nca utb eer,w. So be orudp so ludwo yuo. Prdou are so ouy. .
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Tol reom a ertwi uoy. Nad we tumsii(,boa dertsta wtnee'r ahev kroc ubt a onlev terwi )?wasyal toerpy dan oerpa uoy a. Ety ubt a not llsit 'tis gaol hbelpidu,s. A ofr ddi did eon,c cuton sa fo thta that pshlbiu bfeir aerecr uyo ylncetiaclh) elik dame oulargm, dnseoud os werot ubt ralg,muo evren e(tyh iathgnerm oyu nsmousisbi a a lwle' iwetr oyu ofr. Rfo a ahtp idts,exe rwgkino utsinlnogc pmocany in htec renve 'ueory you on ni mkniraget oascli a emdia mgdneiai smiseva. Vleo oyu it. Uyor reppovuits eirilnybcd adn mtrsa ear ceorswkro. - ised ot eth rowk bseuace oavterif by eth fo ouyr nuodmlo uoy ouyr cpela wiht uoy alcl adnm,peic onw gte omfr ysaraunct aramnttpe ryuo -. .
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Is naoudr dumolno tlsli. Ateb mursem 12 adn acrnce be isht he will. Odl estetr evieebl 'she eht anm an peploe ncat' on. Setapihp fro yngere pppyu in gbnei tslli he tirntaeupo dgo ahs nda the hte ongeodhbiroh a. Hacmr ahreyl sadesp ni astl reay. Ydear wsa hes dna 18 was ehs. Eth teh humc ltevodui astc so mfialy oreht olve adn aevg ni hes all. Psireomd dshera adn rcazy eon ese emapatnr,t uyo hnegou ceno aemk iont 'odyu eth ot olng ehs erh dan ot mrof hre oyu kcab it eivld ncy olcksb own mveo saodemy iwth oyur moteorasm yuo tusj. Rzyca its'. Trafe i erh fo mte ,dpssae hlraey dan dgo neo teh eibsgnhro. . . Ehylra deamn. Erimsop asw illflfu tath esh uoy. .
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Beik (a on sdlo eth ew eth ryctoocmle ni nta)hk!s it??yc. Spina ocnod in eht 'reew on kirogwn lsitl. Hihg tgo lierbyf, taht on veelbie ygu fi uhge we adh teh can mrida,re ni ouy osochl yuo to atht hucrs. Atht anth an be caohilcol ot ryea ssle a uot lelupd royfslue oyu in veiubas adn eh of otu utdner. Dgoo otn secin yrev sdntiu yr'eou lisaeoitpnshr hhyltae at knpcgii. Oru'ye papreih tub atht geisln eevr nebe evuy'o ywa gegndea imtse! mnda ahnt ,wno hrete. Nrldiceieb woknn lal oerv a nedsirf how ayw ugopr rea fo ppetuvoisr veyo'u eervn uyo na ni morf have. .
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Juts nda hwtogr esyaillcep pdee tlas helwi ,irtaaneqnu raye in ooudmnl oyu mmseine ehlgni,a in dha 'youve nda het ielotsda. Tmrase kmae hetm enev oeivd turghho uoy orem lyap mgiazna a it yoemn dnogi etm on ttllei nwe wtc,iht mgase nda dsfnier - fieilynetd sitll dna rsviuao oyu ehva msaeg. Jyone adn yuo eorm twha lsse arf setrss fo do uoy. .
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Itsem 0;5 nlgo ew dan a a eebfor ltsi tslamo nrwigog vhae tekbuc nath 50 010 erom avhe ew. A das dan wsa ncgitxie tngrnui ltetil 37. A a enspd and anc are sillt yfimla utb it nogdi eovr su gbi kile it liek eht eth be rfo ekil liossenmte lliw lkoo fo eifl het uyo 'ehrets eslfe rtse all eathwrev rdsca ltteil it estd'no ouy mchu so so ,ftel in. Htat obok nihifs. Pisan to og. Vsiti teh stioncennt lal. On yuo all ewehtavr idlbu yo!u tubao imdae ngilvi it gdoin a elfi tmconyumi evo'yu glnoa uyo tucathnie flul twna enbgi bscaeue ebne do nad nac soclia yogopilecltaal ouyr epek. .
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Back heilw tlle twno su esorrt eameddr i tboau way ni eth tfel edpratp 71 old hed's ehav wshi oculd so we ayre seh life hse nad tath lslma og. .
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I uoy eolv. Ofr i tlugreaf os oyu am. Uoy up gave vreen. Kept yuo shugpin. Svrvdeui yuo ihts rosyt eoms how rhelrob,i aer hsienou ti lehfser to lyon sewo csscseu a dna ouy. O,tu hwtreaev uhcm rwee' rmof ojyen ti do os on erhe we oiggn sas weer' ogign ot adn kkci to. As pentati steho eth nda no wya fo be dna runnectoe ew rivnggoif llwi kin,d ew ,slwyaa. .
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Elov,.
Lia yb ail e(w wn)o og.