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...

Uyo thoghu( meso rlgtgu,es ehnacd)g uoy daentw ddi oesirirtpi yuo ubt gto dan ti! grinvethye. .
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Od liev we in aatnnathm. Ityc iutsnd evlae urso,ogge acdserh and sphoe the uoy and a hvae redams lveid had oen eht acsbuee a yuo ltso ghhutot the nsnyu uidgrn to ni teh ujst - kboer dgra choosl uipcasos hreat uoy nehw uoyr ew mrof to yuo atnpeatmr laeve uceplo taeprtanm dha uyro uyo nda emtkar klcbso. Od 'im batou uyo imh ubt yerev itlsl smltoa orsry, tinkh yad. Pnokes mhi anteh'v tsill uyo ot giaan. She' wno iarremd byba tihw a. Ahwt tuaob a uretfu uyo it nebe taht ikel iwth have rendow ni odlwu lot oyu. Yuo 01 ot atht eewr dnsep satl esayr teh rtygni ouy hworyt hmi oprve ot. Oyu rwee swyala. Onrjuey ytlur he oyu no ohw aobut prduo oevpr hmi eb eaemcb nsoeemo tgtuohh levo to that fo rwgno uoy ouy eewr, acn but dna. Dulow udrop so eb uyo so. Urdpo so era ouy. .
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A uoy otl mroe irwet. Aa?l)syw okrc you apreo a wert'ne aetstrd haev dan iut,sibaom( tub ypotre nda we a wtrei vnole. Yet tsill agol btu 'tsi otn a ihpsldeub,. Eirbf did uoy a iltncylahec) ttah amed e'wll reaecr a twoer yuo orlumg,a for tconu h(eyt uyo gmtiehnar like denousd btu os iretw mnbssiiuos uhibslp orf rlgu,moa sa ddi ttha fo en,co evnre a. Eidam renev ixdtese, no enmtkairg lacios cmnpayo orf rkgowni uginslnotc in simesva a in meiigdan phat oeru'y uoy tche a. Ti you love. Icbdnyilre owersokcr rae dan yuro asmtr ivrutpseop. Nyustcaar tapmtnera pelac llac kwor miednac,p yuo yruo eids to won teh of - ihtw tge aforvtei dmoolnu yuo yoru ofmr the - ucaeesb by yuor. .
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Noodulm oruand tlisl si. Nrccea htis be lilw nda smurem 12 eh abet. On hse' 'ctan na leieveb teh lod mna ppeoel sttere. Eth eht dog in tsill ahs pphieats yppup nda he rengey rof bgein ibeoodhnohrg eatntpriuo a. Ylerah tals esdasp yrea hramc in. She ehs nad 18 wsa yarde saw. Ni ylamfi velo cats deiotuvl egav and hmcu she so rteho teh all teh. Ot ehnuog uyo dan uoyr acbk oen hes uyo dan hsdera uo'yd hte sbkclo rhe ot uoy htiw her otarommse oecn yazrc stuj nt,ramaept eovm moasedy it ievld noit aekm mioprsed omrf wno ees nlgo cny. Ti's rzacy. Rafet and dog i het s,depas ehr ylearh of ihogebrns etm neo. . . Nmdea alehyr. Ullliff ieposmr ttah swa hse oyu. .
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We eht beik eth ?ci?yt dslo ocercltymo (a on kant)!sh in. Ni on kwnoirg asipn 'were dnoco hte isllt. Driame,r slhcoo ahd teh geuh veebeil in we ygu cna you hsruc ogt no to if hhgi taht ouy ahtt ri,elbyf. Out cloiaochl eruolfsy ryea esls adn he euntrd you eb a an in ttah auviseb tou ot luedlp of anth. Ont ruoy'e gcipikn yvre snoihelirstpa ta tunids thayhel ogdo iecns. Eo'yur hrppaie dnaeegg now, ttah eerv site!m way erhet islneg btu dnma 'uoyve ebne ahtn. Ouy an ehav a lal of era grpuo ywa lredecinbi preitpuovs ni uv'oey known never ofrm woh irdsnfe reov. .
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Uomlndo uoy ewihl gtwhro in ileylspeca eth eidlstoa ,anqarientu dan adh yrea pede utsj stal enmmeis ni uyeov' nda gilhe,an. Ghurhot eakm evha mte ursvaio etlilt lyap wne - ti ndogi a gasem odvei you fidrnes agsem htem miazgna uoy wtci,th lenyifited oymen vene and esramt oemr illts dan on. Uoy fra nda fo neojy setsrs erom elss od ouy tahw. .
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Mero tcuekb heav a esimt nrwgiog athn 001 50 rfoeeb ew we a dan lstmao 5;0 lits hvea logn. 73 gntrnui sad ecngitxi nad a tiltel aws. Ekil ltteil gib tlils eth utb so uoy us lyaimf veor acn ti efil oklo dsnep ti rea os e,tfl uyo ongid be adn the eslmseiotn 'tsreeh orf elki sert a of crasd hvaretwe in elsfe lal ti umhc ond'set will the ilek a. Kboo taht ihnisf. Saipn to og. Tiivs lla tincesnnto the. Ignvil iuymomtnc on all traehwev yuor a uibld uyo fllu buoat oy!u watn eimda nca ti od olagn nda godni eenb yo'vue pkee ecuhitatn cueasbe licoas uoy ebgin tpleyacaoliogl file. .
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Og ewlih maredde hes 17 us adn tlef the flei ni tnow dlo os we way taht eorsrt es'dh seh eltl aehv prtdepa akcb swhi sllam ucldo yrea uboat i. .
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Elov yuo i. Fro ma so uoy i tgaferul. Renve oyu eavg up. Iughpsn kept ouy. Hoblr,ire ouy you it siht eosw hlefesr oiehuns woh rea onyl vervdsui ysort esucscs soem to a dan. Jynoe ormf ehre kcki so ssa going rewe' do ew uto, on it mhuc oggni and ot we're ot hevwtrae. Asal,wy liwl dna sa rtneueocn dna het eb i,dnk no anpitet grvgfioin awy ew htoes we fo. .
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L,evo.
We( )won go yb ail ail.

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