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...

Dnhgeca) otg(uhh ouy antdew dan yuo eitiriorsp rlgut,seg i!t tog seom yuo idd getrnivhey tbu. .
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Od in ew ttnmahaan liev. A ngiudr oruy othhtgu cyit the vahe kreatm maerds adgr ernmpatat cabsuee adn loohcs levid oyru pnmretaat henw soklcb ew ot to ephos hte - ploecu oipusasc oyu goru,soge nutisd snnuy yuo ni omfr adn dhserac yuo eveal ahrte eth the ujst dah dah uoy ltos dna yuo orebk velae oen a. Isllt tslamo mih do oabut ouy 'im dya ror,ys hintk evrye utb. Mhi uoy hnetv'a litsl gnaia ot oseknp. Baby a nwo iwth eh's errmaid. Twih have it tath ni orewnd ouy ilek touba been lwdou a urutef otl ouy hatw. Roythw taht pervo erew ot yrsea ihm last teh 10 you iytrgn ot uoy nedps. Syalaw erwe oyu. Tuyrl can adn tbu on hohtgut yuo erw,e he udopr otbua be imh oyu ebemac elvo gowrn rvepo htat fo ojyruen ooenesm ouy to ohw. Os os yuo lowud eb purod. You era os orpud. .
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Etrwi erom ouy tol a. Veha a ?ylwaa)s and voeln teirw neterw' cork sttedra we uoib(iamt,s orpae treoyp tub yuo a dna. Eyt ubt tsill loga a tno 'its dpbu,hisel. Neerv etorw dmea ubt for ouy lomura,g lkei a conut sa frbei did thta idd e,onc e'lwl raerce u,gralom yuo fo os uyo uenddso iewtr orf arenhmigt a (ethy a h)litalecnyc isuosmbins bsuhlip tath. Dtesei,x vmaisse in remagiknt uy'ore deami gaidnime no rfo aoslic nveer chte oirgwnk cnpayom a ni atph lngcusntoi you a. Lvoe yuo ti. Adn uory iclndibyer iuperpvtos ksecororw era samrt. Ireotfva teh rmfo onodlum uyor aapttnmer twhi alpce yuo het nwo abuseec yb fo to - yuor yuo lcal p,dmacien oyur aanurtcsy deis - owkr teg. .
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Lmudnoo audnro tills si. Eh acenrc llwi be adn tabe srmemu 21 hits. On tnc'a nma 'seh eeibvel dol eht pleepo serett an. Nda pyupp ngerye eht ni pephtsia orf a trpotneaui het iohrdgoehnbo siltl gnieb dog he hsa. Chmra slta arhyel aery ssdepa in. She she wsa nda 81 ryaed asw. Otveiuld hse the nad oetrh humc lla vgea ctsa voel het os ni ymfali. Ghueno cny het eocn yuro bakc yuo it dveil ouy whti ngol ot hsdera rhe meorspid nda to uoy osdyame noit hes ees fomr one rhe tsoemmaro own dyu'o meov tsju arzcy p,rtnteama clkosb aemk dna. Yczar sit'. Hre neo of ,sspdea i elaryh mte ertfa grhseboni adn dgo teh. . . Leahyr admen. She yuo swa ersmopi htta llluiff. .
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Hte lsdo y??tic kbie ew on (a ni eht sankt!)h tcyremocol. Ni reew' sainp on ocdon niwkgro the listl. Uyo ni lyribef, hgih to atht rsuhc ilvebee guy ew dha tgo oyu cholos iar,emdr teh if can ehgu no ttah. Retund esls yurfelso nda dullep tath you nhat visubea uot to he uto a of an oichalclo ni yaer eb. Ikpcnig nsduti snice at yver ton reialnshtpois gdoo roe'uy yheahlt. Oeuv'y tereh eis!mt ebne dgegean dman gienls hnat yaw atth wn,o phpaeir utb eyuo'r vere. Na ni nnwok lla of erdfnis pstpovrieu orve a ear ediceirbln owh vaeh progu uoye'v ayw oyu orfm evenr. .
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Ouy oey'vu and angl,ihe dna leeaclsypi lseatodi in ni stla nnue,taqiar dmuoonl teh iwelh pdee hda esinmme eray thrgwo usjt. Mte mnyoe new tuohghr ,cihwtt uoy nefdiiyetl dsfeirn ypla a no ratsem meth dna haev zgimana nad kmea ti oediv - reom mgesa oigdn mesga iltsl nvee uyo elltti svraoiu. Moer and od uyo elss tahw oyu rtsess eynjo afr of. .
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Mtesi 001 evah eahv rmoe tbckeu a hnta berfeo ew 05 a maltos 50; gignwro dna lsit lnog ew. Xtineigc ettlil 73 saw adn nnitrgu a ads. Hcum arsdc elsef os os eifl us liek rfo will a npdse dan fo 'sheetr nodig it rae oklo it yuo hte nca ef,lt ni eb teh bgi like yuo het vwrhetea 'tndeos tub it yfaiml etsr lal tietll a lmoenssite roev llsti eikl. Hniisf taht bkoo. Naspi go to. Lla estnnontic the vsiit. Lful a uoatb ti feli oymtcumni oruy no aillogtolacpey isoalc glaon wnta eraetvhw gibne yo'veu dan bnee amide cna ognid od vgiinl yuo iludb !yuo usebeac all uyo uehtcinta peke. .
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Cakb ddeemar seh atht i ldo alsml vahe lief og eliwh dluoc ntwo eh'ds nda ywa ni ew llte os us iwsh eary etfl seh obuat 71 het eotsrr tdpaepr. .
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I oevl ouy. Ma egarltuf yuo i os for. Gaev evenr yuo up. Sigpunh uyo ektp. Ouy this hwo lrorbi,he isduevrv eswo soytr a nda it ot omse ylno you ssuscec nsuoehi fereshl rae. Rwe'e niogg to erhe sas do so ynjoe fmro it we evhwtare rw'ee cikk to iongg to,u on adn uhcm. Noigfrgvi and be on apnitet nad rtcueneno soteh a,ywsal ywa sa of ew eht k,ndi ew wlli. .
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Olv,e.
Og yb )onw ila w(e ail.

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