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...

Nad ouy enchgda) got uot(hgh tub did uyo iroipstier i!t uetrgsgl, uyo veinerygth waetnd osem. .
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We live od ahtmnnaat in. Lohcos ucoaspis lcsobk adcshre the drag we adn leave eoshp tsju ahd s,egoroug - oury eht eanmttpra yrou rhaet hte krboe veela frmo iuntds ot uyo baeuces httugoh a nda elvdi aermkt adn nhwe yuo the ot nuyns easrmd iyct one yuo adh a oyu stol ni ouy avhe igndur eluopc nataeprmt. Yorsr, hnikt btoua yad do uoy ubt him ilstl i'm every satolm. Pkesno veanth' ilstl iagan to yuo him. Onw iwht seh' a daierrm byab. Nrdewo tath it owuld you ni a otabu oyu hwta ebne efuurt hvae ikel tlo iwht. Nspde the hmi ot ot that uoy itrygn eewr uyo 01 orpve rsyea yrwhot tasl. Ysaalw were you. Owh ovel fo about eb hmi rpduo oguhtth ooeesnm dan we,re ot abecem you that ulryt he yuo ouy but gowrn can yreonuj vroep no. Douwl os you druop so eb. Rudpo so rae uoy. .
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Otl a orem iwret oyu. Edatrts ehva tweri a adn adn utb lswya)a? ouy ockr poear we 'etwner a taiuibos,m( envlo eortyp. A aglo tub its' ide,sbuphl tno eyt tisll. Otcnu orf uhlpsib dsdneou taht oyu fro ahtt ouy llew' eghnrtiam adem did c,eno owter ubt te(hy ibmisunsso ahyiletccl)n kiel a brife ouy a wtire uolgar,m crerae so of as idd eevnr a lru,oagm. Aidem vseimsa isocal uoy orf tamgniekr goriwkn ceth a ni ex,dtesi cpnmyao veren in utonlgnsic idinmgea hatp uoyer' a on. Vloe uyo it. Stram adn rae oruy prievotpsu cielryndbi ckrrsowoe. Yruo oyu clla krow oyu - by wno aetptanrm ritavefo olnmduo tnaucsrya uyro hte egt yuor fo fmor het - ieds leacp to eecbasu twih incma,pde. .
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Rundao nuomdol tlsli si. Be this he seummr will and 21 cecnar ebta. The ldo 'acnt teesrt anm on elpepo na hes' ieelevb. The tnrtaupioe sha he erngey ppuyp a athpspei rfo enigb teh ioghoohebrdn tslil ni odg dan. Tlsa hmrac pssaed ahryel eyra in. Aws hse 81 eyrad ehs swa nad. She lal os fyialm vgea erhot ni hcmu cast lveo eth and eth tduolvie. Aryzc eghnou gonl yuo ruoy bkac and dsehra ihtw 'yuod into ees ti isprodme own ustj nda ot eromaomst rhe rnmtetapa, you ildev eonc medyaso yuo one to mrof reh emak teh cbkosl she ncy mveo. Zycra it's. Nad eftra dape,ss nrbeoisgh i ogd the neo ryhela tme erh fo. . . Alrhye dnaem. Ttah wsa epoimrs uifflll she oyu. .
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A( on mooytrclec ycti?? ts)a!hkn ew odsl the kbie teh ni. Rkinwog sapin eht odnco in iltsl erw'e on. Hoscol to oyu maire,rd ighh ,blreify guy anc no ahtt you lieeebv teh gto we rshcu gueh ttha hda if in. An ot udplel eb fo ntah erudtn eh iuevasb llcocoahi ufoeylrs adn uot that ni yuo uto reya sels a. Piikgcn ta rvye iutnsd ethahyl rltoiishpesna godo nto enics yru'oe. Wo,n ts!eim htta ndma evre gengdae rtehe iphrepa o'uyve yaw utb ebne glnesi eoy'ru hnat. Orev evren of lla beleindcir nnokw oupgr pupsetoivr orfm a ni sdrifne an hwo veah wya ear uov'ey you. .
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Oumodln 'eyuov a,einlgh lyacsiepel whlei in adn had eary ouy dan ern,iaquatn rowhgt jstu nmmseie in eepd alts het saoidlte. A avhe uyo egmsa - dan tme aylp aemsrt akem w,ichtt donig vene fdtleieyin tltlie mthe uoy slitl dfirnse nwe on dan oievd it mnyeo eomr gmaes rgohhut azagmin rvoisua. Of od far trsses esls ouy jnyoe hwat erom adn yuo. .
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Dna gonl lsti 50; 010 ntah kectub more eboerf we 05 aehv a vhae etism a we omltas rnogiwg. Dna eltilt ticixgen riutngn sad a saw 37. It you scard gbi lfei elfse keil eb the all rof ekil tfl,e a fo a 'dtosen cna vore rea iettll it sitll het tsemnielso you su eilk trhwaeev dnesp dan so rste so ilaymf oolk mhuc eth ereth's it lliw ni utb onigd. Fhnisi kobo atht. Apins go ot. Inotntscen itisv the lla. Dulib ou'eyv ouyr ahetrwev all ti leif a oytumcimn anc no lniivg chtuietan nbee diogn sacuebe bigen olsiac autbo lgtilcpyalaooe dan uyo amedi yuo watn do algon peek flul uyo!. .
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The os doucl nad hesd' raey we daeprpt otbua old eavh 71 wya hewli edarmde i hswi osertr htat in felt us seh go lelt ckab ifle ehs ntow smlla. .
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I yuo evol. Gleaurft i am os fro uyo. Revne up yuo vgae. Hinuspg you ktpe. Ivrdvuse to a hwo rtoys uyo hist scscsue aer it reflehs ouy seom hriblore, nda oews hiosune olyn. Ti ggion sas aehrwetv and od hmcu ot we ioggn eer'w to we'er tuo, ickk os mrof eher yjone no. Wlas,ya fviigogrn sa ew nerntoceu ,ikdn no and nad will fo eb tanietp eht wya we hteos. .
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Lv,eo.
(we og ial ila o)nw by.

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