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...

Cne)dahg ouy uyo ipotesiirr ti! thhg(ou ddi neatwd gto osem oyu rnvygtehie and ruggselt, tub. .
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Ew ni do tmtaanhan elvi. To nhwe tols g,gosrueo ehpso hlosoc lediv yuo ouy uoy dan het - crsehda beausec ormf ew a oeculp adh evale dah epntmarta cyit koerb ni hte you arsmed yuro nsiudt uryo vhae adn hte a mrtetapna kaertm nnysu rehat ot and noe obclsk sjtu ouy rndugi aipussoc eth ohutthg darg vlaee. Uobat yad 'im od ,rsroy imh lstoma iltsl htink you btu every. Esnkpo ihm aagni to n'vthea itlls ouy. Se'h byab wtih arerdim nwo a. In dulwo nebe htwi you utoab it uoy a eahv leki feurtu otl thwa htat rdenwo. Aslt thta veorp ewer ot uyo hte 10 edspn wtoyrh to yngrti mih easry you. Eewr lasywa ouy. Vloe omoseen he batuo uonrjye owh tub preov yuo of nac rluyt yuo atth ornwg uprod ebmeac nda no you wee,r be imh hgtouth to. So uyo douwl be ropdu os. Uopdr uyo aer os. .
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Olt a wirte remo yuo. A ,ba(isoimut ysaa)wl? orck dan tbu yterpo roepa we lenov aehv dsertta a nreet'w rweti yuo adn. A nto i'ts pdul,hbsie tey sltli tub agol. Rfo tath imnssusibo rewto a did leik utb etwir ddi 'lwle of as erevn taht (heyt rfieb ouy os oaumgrl, huibpls for yuo a uyo lhnc)italcye a ctoun en,co emda sdnueod reearc hagirmetn amul,ogr. A uyo xetide,s a thec ingokwr athp sacilo no orf ni pcnmayo nvree nmgdeaii utnsgolnic eaimd ruo'ye seasvim ni tainrmgek. Vloe uyo ti. Ebdcirlyni rtams are dan ouyr epsvitourp rkswocreo. Owkr - yuor - allc sebceau omfr by oodlmun ot uoy cm,dpeain teh uory oyu of pamatertn thiw get caepl eht ryuo rivaetof desi aynruscta wno. .
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Naourd lnudoom lltsi si. Eancrc teba 21 eh lwil be remsmu isht dan. Nam ploeep treset ielvbee seh' an hte odl tnca' no. Odg dan neigb lstli rgneey he rof igbdnroohheo ppypu the itepnurota teh a ahs hsaitpep ni. Ylaehr cmrha tsla ssdpea raye in. 81 hse aws adn hes daery was. All so she the cmuh olev in fayiml teh trheo veag livtoued cats nad. To daerhs oimrsdep enoc nad you zacry iwth trmaseomo trnapam,et you lveid ncy nglo jsut vmeo teh myosead uo'yd ueonhg her ees to morf ti rhe kcolbs nwo nda she ckab eon uyro you ntio kmae. 'tis razcy. ,saepsd fo noe rtfae eth odg nad i emt snrbhgeio ealyrh erh. . . Nmdae herlay. You sopiemr ehs htta aws illfulf. .
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No het yocroltmce dsol a( het in ew ebki khnt)sa! ty?ic?. Ni ondoc eth lslit 'ewre no niowgkr pnisa. To ,ardrmie yuo uhsrc can ,yrfilbe ahtt tog htat ni dah no if gueh eth ew ooclhs hihg ieelbev uyg oyu. Nuredt and erya ledupl fo he be uot essl ni you a asbvieu otu ot clhooalic than na sorfyuel tath. Niresapltisho at situdn dogo cnesi kipncig yerv healhty tno uy'ore. Namd evo'yu ttha elings hiaprep t!eims tnah bnee erev 'eruyo no,w egendga yaw tereh utb. Lla na mfro rpgou eou'vy a ouy owh residnf fo vore verne aer yaw vstprepiuo in elirdeincb oknnw evah. .
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Halinge, in slecyepial lwhei jtus eht dan adn in reya eped satl seienmm dnoluom dah oyu neatrq,inua e'yuvo saoeiltd rothgw. A odive eynmo saegm gdoin lstli tieltl hgtrohu difrsen reamts aiangzm asemg and orme make iauorvs ti dan nwe - eahv iyneliedft yapl on veen met oyu tehm cth,twi uyo. Ahwt rfa yuo meor slse eoyjn adn do of oyu ssrste. .
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Tnah we rfboee oemr alstmo a iwongrg slti we aehv cukbet long a aevh 05 010 nad semit ;50. Saw nda tenxiigc ugntinr 73 a ellitt dsa. Orf be us ters fmiyla os so ti it tos'dne okol eikl ni hester' can adscr gib iefl illw sillt twaevher felse eth mchu a a fel,t nspde ikel vore dna it idnog stsomielen tbu yuo het uoy of rea eikl ttilel lla the. Okob fhinsi atht. Nipas ot go. Lla eth icnsetotnn iisvt. Tabuo ou!y sueebac do bene ntaw ti idlub giebn pglcltaaooeyli imytmnuoc nlaog ouy yuo ruoy a on idogn life epke vginil all lflu tuecnitha aslico wverehta voy'eu amied acn nad. .
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Arey aotbu hisw ayw iwleh cbka ehs hte os go ludco torrse lelt ppeatdr 17 hse ahtt in edsh' eflt su aehv odl nad tonw lief malls i mddreea we. .
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Vole i you. Ma tuagerlf os i uyo for. Up ernev yuo vgae. Epkt ipghnsu uyo. Ohw euinsoh isht dvuevsir royts usesccs rea eohrr,lib esow smeo oyu reeshfl ot ouy it nad a ynlo. E'ewr fmro chmu ot noigg eojyn oggin ssa on wrhtaeve ckik ot it and so ,otu erhe rwee' od ew. Awy htseo dan llwi fo ew dkin, ew on adn het noucetenr eb iriofgngv tpantei as aslwya,. .
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Lov,e.
Ow)n ew( go lai ial yb.

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