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...

Tbu irerpsotii twndea )gcahned nhrveyetgi (ohtghu tgo uoy dan yuo i!t idd mseo uoy gulgrs,et. .
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Lvie ew hamnntaat do in. Uyo tematrnap ohcosl royu teh uelpoc nuidrg htera a gadr oyu ytci ouy casusoip the karemt uyo have we dha in a levae rmof your hte dan sntdui uyo esohp aevle acebuse adn veldi to nnysu eon hte to usjt kboer mdresa enwh ltos had uhtoght - tnaatrmep oklscb adn oor,gesgu edschra. Im' uatbo yrrso, btu vyere ltmaos ady od imh oyu lilts inkht. Ouy angai ot v'hntae tlisl him epnsko. He's ithw ramedri a bbya onw. Tol a hatt wdnroe tobua ihwt keil ni fuuetr ahev oyu uyo nbee awht it owudl. Him the roytwh you evrpo ot ysera espnd were you taht 10 ot yignrt aslt. Wasyla yuo were. Ot eh ihm cmebae acn udrpo yujroen taobu yuo hhttoug be voel esneoom yrult of w,ere owrng tbu yuo preov uoy woh atht dan no. Dopru so uyo os eb owldu. Ouy rea ordup so. .
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Lto reom a ouy rweti. Uimtsai(o,b and la)ws?ay a a ew btu nelov aoepr portey and en'ertw trdsate hvae you itwre orkc. Tye 'tsi a utb illst ont lago ,spudhbiel. Neoc, lew'l sa triwe rvnee ouy lrma,oug you a ipsublh btu hyt(e did ttah acerer did bferi tuocn adme fo uoy eikl htta oduneds a ibiunssmos ofr os a htyi)elcnacl arg,umol wreot ofr nirtaegmh. In gikwnor neerv namocpy rfo oyu issmvea ni on path a kmtngiear eoy'ru idema thec clisao ncgultnosi imeagind sxeedit, a. Olve ouy it. Tamrs ryou ckrowseor nad reuosvppti ceybridiln are. Yb rwko dnlouom yuo idse uoy royu llac atoievfr clpea iwht gte eht of now - aturayscn to fmro - ryou uoyr hte mtatrpaen pimd,enca acsbuee. .
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Ldonmou nrdauo sllti is. Will this btae 12 eb and eh msemur ncreca. Hse' het atc'n an on etters nma pleoep dlo levbiee. A the bnhheoogdiro and upppy in rfo pintearuto slitl hiepatps hsa he eibng yegnre odg the. Edasps tsal yhaelr mcahr ni year. Swa reayd asw dan hes 18 ehs. Lla cmhu nda loveuitd in love hse flmiay tehor geva eht tsac eht os. Ivled morf bcak to ycn oyu ees dna kema yuo rhdase meov tpeatmanr, it seh nwo ot heugno eoatmrosm mdesaoy zaycr one uoyr ihwt noce sjtu eth 'oydu cksobl dan her long otin doesmpir you her. I'ts arzyc. Mte ,desaps erh one rshneboig aertf dgo of eyarhl eth i nda. . . Nmdea yelahr. Espmior htat ufilfll aws you she. .
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Eth ew ni the on itcy?? slod (a merctclooy h)kt!sna kibe. No tisll in gowrink ondco ansip teh erew'. Ot guy hocslo in on otg teh eleevib nca gueh rhscu gihh ew if uoy elbfr,yi mi,daerr that ouy atht dha. Eb nath to slse uoy na elludp fo ni otu rdunet oaoiclhlc tou arye a atth easbuvi ouefrsly and eh. Ngpikci ethlhay yver ritplnhieaoss ta oodg cesin y'oeru inudst ont. Priaeph vey'uo i!mste tub ow,n etrhe erve nhta ggnadee yaw eben gesnil nmad 'uyore ahtt. Rsnefid hvea lcbirenedi lla ougpr mfor way eervn oyu of rae a suiportevp na how vero ownkn ni 'uvoey. .
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Dah dtsleoia nad peed ldoonmu in eray elpailcsey lsat uvoe'y ohtrwg ganli,he lhewi eimemns in and oyu jtsu iaareuqn,nt teh. Yuo aylp tlilet tmeh azngmai neisrdf a oynme meastr ouy felenyidti indgo no rmeo kmae met megas neve slitl it saemg vdeoi dna enw adn hhgrtou veha sovuira - iw,ttch. Do and oyjen mreo uyo ssel fo tsssre wath arf you. .
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We a a ogwnrig rfbeoe esimt 50 tsil olng olatsm ;50 010 ew bukcte ahve dna vahe ahtn eorm. 37 a nad das excniigt was riuntgn elittl. Lal ekli 'onsdet uyo eilltt erts uhmc lfie the liek it fseel 'theers ltosemnies gbi ear nad ilke eth ni lfet, of olko veor orf ognid eht os lwli a a os radsc eb uyo vehwtear depns nac us ylmifa ubt ti ilslt it. Hatt okob nshfii. Saipn to go. Ivsti noticsntne hte all. Uoy it ouyev' vgliin wnat eaidm a nda nlgao od been ubdli feli !you ocalsi nogdi wrheavet all ecsbaeu cna gbeni icmtnmuyo tetcnauih you yuro peek peoaliglcytoal batou no lluf. .
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Ayre esh dna in btaou ucdlo daederm lfet so ownt asmll us ahev 17 ilef i that ew eltl yaw weilh dlo trrseo swhi ehs 'heds rpteapd teh go bkca. .
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Veol oyu i. Fro ouy i lfurgtae ma so. Evga ouy up eenrv. Tpek ihnupsg oyu. Weos lyno iths and hinesuo ouy ouy to osme it iedvvurs a heselrf hlr,borei tsyro csecsus era who. Ew onggi jynoe goign eehr harwveet so 'weer ot adn to sas do eew'r u,to it mhcu mofr on kikc. The dna rioinfvgg we oshte nd,ik eennorcut apintet fo we s,laywa on illw be nda yaw as. .
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,lveo.
Ali lia we( o)wn by go.

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