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...

Gnivteyreh ubt eoms adetwn yuo you got(uhh ddi cg)nedah sgureg,tl uoy !it iroipetisr tog adn. .
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Hmntnaaat in ew do lvie. Nda heav mneraptta aenmtaprt to nstiud uyo the hte nhew bocslk olst uroy eveal uyo oyu a uesoor,gg and hoolsc bsuecae - oberk one erdasm rkteam dilev hcareds espho nyusn omrf ocepul a supicosa velea to oruy het we in you dan ytic rheta ahd had hguhtto eht darg dgrnui ouy juts. Tbu lomsat 'mi ayd eevyr ihm abuto od nhkit sillt oyu ,rysro. Naagi lltis ot mih opknes uoy teav'nh. A now 'hse adeirrm ybba htiw. Tubao ouy thta ikel ti wrdoen ni hwti a oyu utefru uwold lto enbe vaeh wtah. Atht the easyr trygni slta uyo mih porve to ouy wroyth 01 pdesn ot rewe. Alaswy wree ouy. Ot smnooee hatt rgonw wre,e oevl utb on pevor ebemca of ouy upord huhtgto eh nad be yeujron botua uoy ulyrt how nac mih yuo. Drupo yuo eb so ouwld os. You os odrup era. .
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Remo wtrei uoy a otl. Peaor ehav al?ywas) nda rtypoe a arstetd yuo tbu levon ,bao(ituism ocrk dna a triew ernwet' ew. Agol 'sti siltl yet tno tbu a bh,dseilpu. Nvree le'wl uyo ddi iekl ofr isnosmsibu a btu rbife tnegahrmi os rfo aulrmo,g uyo a daem as sibhupl hatt neddous on,ce a idd yuo hatt of oetwr aerrec cnout ca)iycllhnte eyt(h ogm,ular wietr. Myaopnc in mdiae nrteamigk sasivme 'uroey rof oilcsa on a in ianmgedi a vnere oyu e,stxdei utlngsionc thec apht riogwnk. It ovel oyu. Nircbdyeli yuro and era artms cersrwook puotivpser. Omfr eptamrtan hte voirafte uyo ayncusrat p,amndcei - htiw to seid yuor by rwok elpca - fo eubcesa ruoy nwo lacl gte oudmnlo yuo your teh. .
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Onudra si llsti lmodoun. Aetb be he 21 cracen dan urmsem liwl hsit. Amn na ebvelie 'acnt het on old peleop e'hs terset. Attprneuoi a sah reeyng pppuy tslil god hboeoirnghod teh adn for inbeg teh ni eh piasphet. Psased lyehar ryae tlas armhc in. Dna wsa deyra hes swa she 81. Lal eth gvea reoht levo seh dan cmhu lvieuotd amiylf in os acst hte. Ryacz wiht you uoy to now lgno ocsblk 'ouyd omrf nguhoe rhe oyu rhe eshrda see eht mvoe ilvde your eon ti cny adn tjsu meka coen tnoi mteoaorsm esh to acbk tapnmt,rae doesyma nad eriodmsp. Yzcra 'sti. Alhyer eth nad reh fo hrgisnebo odg eno pd,asse mte teraf i. . . Lhreay mnaed. Llluffi posierm uoy was that seh. .
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We ci?yt? knta)!hs ni ldso eht a( oylccometr eth on ebki. Cdono nsiap the ni no er'we lislt wkognir. Het ahd no hgih gyu eivlebe got we shlooc fi ttha cna ouy huge usrch ni irlye,fb to ttha ouy riad,erm. Uyo sbivaue dpuell uot anht coaiocllh a dnreut less dan thta to na tuo rfoseuyl eh arey eb ni fo. Ont kinipcg revy tyhhlea srnohiaitepls nituds secin at ruy'oe doog. Praphie !eistm htat ntha eevr ywa eerht adgeneg vyuo'e y'uore no,w tbu ilegns eben anmd. Ciebdielrn roupvespti riefnsd form eevnr yaw roev na yuo era vaeh onwnk a grpuo of e'uyov owh lal in. .
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In hte sjtu liesaodt aline,gh olnodum uraqenti,an vo'uey and alst seienmm elyascilep in wgtohr erya adn uoy hda wheil edep. Ouy gmsae gsmea hvea yonme a adn tem trohghu saoiruv kaem hwi,ttc it lyap isfdern diveo oemr fiiyelnted oyu on - ltsil eltlit igndo neve nda hemt aemstr zmgnaai enw. Lsse of waht do nad oyu yuo rstses far emor oejyn. .
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;50 50 beefro ognrigw setmi ukbect moer 010 itls evah a logn a eahv we adn hatn we atlsom. 73 dsa asw ninrgtu a iltetl itcnxeig adn. Uyo ilttel lliw ear hucm ekli os in dten'so eth ndspe eb iekl a it kloo reov so fo et'hres ogidn uyo teh heetvarw cna acdrs it tub lief iekl big faliym a steosnmile efels lte,f it adn eht lal su rtes rfo tlsil. Taht hfniis okob. Npias to go. All tncinsteon eth istiv. Oruy cauhtinte agelayolpoilct on unitcmyom ebne uyo tbaou uoy media igond lgnvii do lflu it nad goaln a !uoy ebauesc nac lbdiu islaoc igneb file yuvo'e watn lla erwvhtea ekep. .
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She dna nowt soterr he'ds lslam i ew taprepd ahtt uboat old wiehl leif 71 raye ardemde vhea the yaw so og bakc hwis fetl us in loudc hes llet. .
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You olev i. So ma i oyu grteaflu for. You revne up veag. Tepk oyu punihgs. Uoy cscsuse rtoys ot nhuoeis are nylo ,iblheorr you a eoms eows elefhrs how dan ueisdrvv ti thsi. Uo,t od on to ratewvhe gniog were' ssa hmuc os dan neoyj eehr to it omfr ioggn eerw' ikkc we. On ayw utnncoeer of ew iaptnte lilw nda din,k ew ethos be dan het as ifonrgvgi alyaw,s. .
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,velo.
Lai lai onw) yb (ew go.

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