35 By 35

So I'm stealing yet another thing from Bri. She did a list of 30 things to do before she turns 30. Seeing as I turn 27 in four days, I extended the list to 35 things to do before I turn 35. Some of it might be a bit ambitious, but why not dream big?

1. Excel in my career
2. Run a a marathon
3. Learn another language
4. Read the Bible
5. Still be a student
6. Return to Colby for my 10 year college reunion
7. Travel to 2 more continents
8. Adopt a dog
9. Become an equestrian
10. Get married
11. Become a homeowner
12. Start a family
13. Travel to the remaining 50 states I haven't been to
14. Spend a week camping in a national park
15. Own a piano
16. Have a garden
17. Cook a Thanksgiving dinner by myself
18. Find a church I like and can go to on a regular basis
19. Be the best aunt EVER!
20. Go fishing
21. Learn yoga
22. Learn how to change my own oil
23. Take up a martial art
24. Be a regular (and not just sporadic) contributor to my favorite charities
25. See the Grand Canyon
26. Spend another summer at the Ranch
28. Learn to drive a stick shift (well)
29. Throw an awesome 30th anniversary celebration for my parents
30. Experience as many other cultures as possible
31. Learn how to knit or quilt
32. See as many Oscar winning movies as possible
33. Go on a hot air balloon ride
34. Learn how (and have enough patience) to play golf
35. Go to Las Vegas

Making New Friends

I realized this weekend while out to dinner with the boy and his friends how much I enjoy meeting new people. This is something that ten years ago I would never have said. I was incredibly shy and quiet all through high school. I was not the type of person who would agree to go on blind dates, or introduce myself to someone I didn't know, strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store. I hated speaking in class and any/all attention drawn towards me. I had a tight group of friends and that was about it. I didn't feel the need to seek out or make new friends at any point in high school. In a lot of ways, a lot of that is true. I still have a core group of friends - whether it's my college pals, ranch friends, grad school friends - that I rely on. So much about me has changed in the last decade though.

I was trying to figure out when this change occurred. If you ask my college pals they'll tell you it was after I went skydiving in Switzerland at age 18. They swear I came back from that and was a much more effervescent and outgoing person. But when I look back I really don't think I was that different a person in college than I was in high school. I was still, in many ways, still very insecure and quiet. I still hated speaking up in class and dreaded the thought of going to a party where I knew no one.

I think my two years at the Ranch were really important and helped me gain a new sense of independence. I started to realize I could do things I never thought I could. Whether it was learning to drive a stick shift the hard way, operating a chain saw or fixing a 1/4 mile stretch of fence all by myself. I also met an insane amount of new people. I had to get along with coworkers who were very different from me. I had to take teenagers and adults out on rides and, not only teach them how to ride and make sure they arrived back at the Ranch safely, but I had to talk and entertain them for 2 1/2 hours. I look back and see a very marked change in myself after my time at the Ranch. I was more social and outgoing, but most of all, I was much more confident.

I think my first boyfriend (and consequent first heartbreak) after college was a really important experience. It sounds odd that getting your heart broken could build confidence, but I really think it did. I realized a lot about myself that has played such an important part in my relationship now. Getting dumped sucked, but it is beyond true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Now I'm living on my own and the girl who hated speaking in class does just that all day long. I've been on blind dates and done things 10 years ago Abigail would have never done. I coach track and go to dinner parties and get-togethers where I don't know anyone. And I love meeting new people! I've made good friends with the wife of one of JC's classmates in the last couple weeks. She and her husband hosted a dinner party a few weeks ago. I gave her my number 'cos I figured we were both home alone all day while our men were in school. We met up for lunch one day and had such a blast we've become great pals. I think it surprised the boy a bit last night when we met up with her and her friends and husband. Honestly, I surprise myself at how easily and how much I enjoy making new friends. I used to hate leaving places all the time 'cos I hated leaving friends behind. In fact, my friends and family can testify that when I left the Ranch to go to grad school I said something along the lines of 'I don't want to make any friends, I just want to get my degree and move on'. That's laughable now when I think about the awesome friends I made at school and how much I enjoy making new ones. It's comforting to know that wherever I go and whatever happens, I have a network of friends all around the country who have my back and I can always make new ones!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Five For Friday

Thought I'd try something new for a change. I stole this from my friend Bri's blog (http://mylifeasbrianne.blogspot.com) and thought it would be fun. I'm not sure what the future holds for the boy and me, but I do know a few things. So here we go...

1. You know the best kinds of weekends are the ones where you do nothing.
2. You’re as competitive as I am and never let me win anything (and I love you for it).
3. You always smell great.
4. When you set your mind on something, I know there’s no doubt you will attain it.
5. You love to learn.

The Best Horse In the World

I found a couple places to horseback ride in the Monterey area and am hoping I can get onto a horse soon. JC and I were supposed to go to a San Francisco Giants-Mets game on my birthday next weekend, but I really want to go riding. We'll see. I miss being around horses so much. The horse that is in all those pictures in my last post is a horse that came to the ranch during my first winter out there. The ranch buys all its horses from auction and they often come to the ranch in less than perfect conditions. This horse, who I named Orangejello or Jello for short, was a real headcase. He clearly had suffered a pretty serious case of neglect, was pretty skinny and had the permanent mark of a halter on his head and was very head shy (did not like his head or ears touched at all). We think someone just put the halter on and left him out there. It kills me the way some people treat animals.

Anyway, when spring finally arrives at the Ranch there is sooo much stuff to do. We have to fix fence, clear trail, fix saddles, shoe and vaccinate the horses and all that. Well, I will never forget when Jello became my horse. On shoeing day, we have to tie all the horses up along the fenceline inside the corral. Jello untied himself about 4 times and was causing all kinds of trouble. By the end of the day they just had to turn him loose in the round pen. My boss pointed at him and just asked, “you want him?” Now how it works at the Ranch is the wranglers always end up with all the horses we can’t put guests on. Most of the “best of the worst” are already taken by the veteran wranglers. I wasn’t about to turn away what looked like a perfectly sound and athletic-looking horse.

See how athletic (if not always a little on the skinny side)?

So I took on Jello as my horse for the summer. He had a host of problems aside from his ability to untie himself and his issues with having his head and ears touched. He was a HUGE scaredy cat. He’d never seen buffalo or elk before (which we see ALL the time on rides). He’d never crossed water, never opened or closed a gate before, never been ridden bareback, never swam in the water. He was afraid of everything! Scary looking rocks, scary looking logs, scary looking holes in the ground. He was a serious head case. My kids (the teenagers I took out) took to calling him “Ronald” (like Ron Weasley from Harry Potter) ‘cos he was a redhead and a big scaredy cat. I just loved him to death though! I spent HOURS working with him on my lunch break, after work, on my day off. By the end of 2 years I turned him into a helluva trail horse and was so sad to leave him.

A sad, sad day...my last ever ride on him

I got to reunite with him briefly in 2008 on a drive cross-country and then again last year when I was out in Wyoming for my sister’s wedding. Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever saw him and, sadly, the last time I ever will. He had some issues with his new rider last summer and had a couple accidents and the Ranch deemed him a ‘dangerous horse’ and ‘liability’. So they sold him : ( . It makes me unbelievably sad. He taught me how to be a better rider and I’m so proud of what a great trail horse I turned him into. I know it’s silly, but I wanted to buy him one day. I hope he’s alive and happy wherever he is and has a new owner who is as patient with him as I was and appreciates what an awesome horse he is. He is a big scaredy cat, but if you build up a relationship with him he will do WHATEVER you ask him to. And believe me on the teen ride, I made him do some pretty crazy things! We race through the water, go swimming bareback, ride along cliffs like this, climb HUGE vertical mountains, go down crazy inclines. And if he trusts you, he’ll do it all and more. I know it’s stupid, but I feel like I let him down ‘cos I wasn’t there to vouch for him. If I were still there and continued to ride him I know they never would have gotten rid of him.

I miss you buddy! and hope you are fat and happy wherever you are!

My Favorite Place in the World

I've been MIA from this blog for just about a month and an awful lot has happened. The school year ended and I have been officially hired on for next year. I'm out in California for the summer with the boy and have been having a blast relaxing and doing a bit of sightseeing (but mostly just relaxing). I have been meaning to blog for a while, but wasn’t quite sure where to start.

I think one of the reasons my blog was on hiatus for so long is because I wasn't quite sure what I wanted it to be. Most blogs have specific niches - a wellness blog, a teaching blog, a running blog, a baby blog. I didn't really know what I wanted my focus to be. So from here on out, I'm just going to talk about me and my life in general, however uneventful it may be.

I figure a great place to start would be with my favorite place in the world, a place that if you spend any time with me you will find comes up in conversation an awful lot and that I simply refer to as “the Ranch”. I have to admit that I’m a bit pleased that while I am enjoying my stay in California it still doesn’t hold a candle to “the Ranch”. The Ranch is Triangle X Ranch, a guest ranch in Moose, Wyoming (just north of Jackson) that I first journeyed to on a family vacation back in 1997. My family of six returned every year, though the number of people dwindled each time. First my oldest brother opted not to return, then my dad decided a week of horseback riding just wasn’t his thing, then my sister went out there to work (she never left and is now married and about to start a family there), then my other brother could no longer take the time off. All in all, I came to the ranch as a guest for seven years before I started working out there myself my junior year of college. I was a glorified toilet scrubber and bed maker, but I loved every minute and returned after I graduated. I loved it so much that I stayed out there through the fall, winter and spring.

Pushing out the herd in the summer (photo courtesy of John Schairer)

The herd moving across the pasture in the fall

The ranch in winter

That summer I was promoted from toilet scrubbed extraordinaire to "teen wrangler" whose job was to teach every teenager that was a guest on the ranch (like I used to be) how to ride a horse and to make sure they had a fabulous week. I had always been a horse lover, but never rode seriously so it was a dream. My biggest problem of the day was whether or not to take my ride into the mountains or down to the river to swim with the horses. I stayed out there for two full years after graduation ‘living the dream’ before I decided to move on and go to graduate school. Sometimes I wish I’d stayed a few years longer, but I’m grateful for the time that I had out there. I look at my boyfriend who went right from college to his job in the military or my friends who went right to a full-time job and I realize how lucky I am.

This horse was my best friend for 2 years

The Ranch is and will always be my happy place, my own personal paradise. I know if life were ever to get rough or I were to get fired from my job that I could return to the Ranch and have a place there. I have family out there now, a sister and brother-in-law (and soon a niece or nephew). Just last week I received a phone call from my former boss offering me my old position. I turned it I down simply because of logistics, money and the fact that I already planned to spend my summer out here with the boy. We won’t get many opportunities to spend time together like this so I have to take every opportunity I can. It’s nice to know that after almost 3 years they still remember me. To this day they say I was the only teen wrangler who ever enjoyed being around teenagers that much. I talk and think about the Ranch all the time so it is comforting to know they think of me too.

Meeting Babe

While traveling back from my 5 year college reunion I had quite the celebrity encounter in the Philadelphia airport. He might not look to you like a celebrity. I highly doubt if you lined up 100 people many people would have been to spot him out of a crowd, but he is indeed a celebrity. There are newspaper articles, books and an entire miniseries about this man. Still, as I said, not many people would likely be able to pick him out of a lineup.

I came running to Gate B19 to catch my US Airways flight out of breath and annoyed at just about everything. I was annoyed I was in the Philly airport to begin with, but my original nonstop flight the night before had been canceled and it was all they had. I was annoyed that my flight that morning was delayed and then sat on the runway for thirty minutes. I was annoyed I had to run through the airport and race to catch a shuttle because of that stupid delay. I was annoyed my gate was all the way at the end of the terminal. Never mind that I had just spent an amazing weekend reconnecting with my college friends, all these little inconveniences were just adding up and stressing me out.

That is until I arrived at the gate, realized I hadn't missed the connection and looked around, as I always do, at who I would be sharing the plane with. That's when I saw Babe. The first thing I noticed was a 101st Airborne cap on his head. I always notice veterans when I go out and if I haven't heard of the unit that they proudly display on their cap, I always make an effort to look it up when I get home. I looked closer at this man and saw a 506th battalion logo, then a Currahee patch. I took a long hard look at his ruddy face and I thought to myself, "my gosh...that's Babe Heffron!"

Now for those who don't know, I have been quite the military history enthusiast ever since visiting Normandy in 2001. That is honestly the whole reason I became a history major and, consequently, a history teacher. I stood out on that beach and looked back up and I visited the battlefields and cemeteries in the area and was just in awe that I didn't know more about this place and what happened there (I was 18 at the time).

It started with a basic book I bought for myself in France on the D-Day invasion. It has spread over the years to include an entire bookshelf full of books on the topic and a shelf full of DVDs and documentaries. My best friend from college once responded when asked what I would do if I could only do one thing for the rest of my life: "she
d read books on D-Day". My fascination with D-Day extended to an overall interest in World War II narratives and the first-hand accounts of men who, to quote Don Malarkey, were so brave as to be unbelievable. Babe Heffron was one of those men.

He was 19 years old when he answered the call to serve in 1942. He went to jump school and though he didn't jump into Normandy, he fought in Operation Market Garden and earned a bronze star at the Battle of the Bulge. He was an ordinary guy called in to do extraordinary things. HBO chose to focus on Babe's unit, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne when they made their epic miniseries Band of Brothers (which I have probably seen 5-6 times). Babe is not featured prominently in the film. If you have not read the book or seen the miniseries before you probably wouldn't remember him. He was a replacement who joined after the Normandy campaign and quickly earned the respect of his fellow soldiers. The actor who portrays Babe, Robin Laing, does a fabulous job portraying the 22 year old in combat. One of his most memorable and emotional episodes is the Breaking Point, which depicts how Easy Company endured the horrific Battle of the Bulge. It boggles my mind how these men survived the conditions they did and were able to go on to live such meaningful lives. If you have not seen the miniseries, I highly recommend it. The excuse that "I'm not into war movies" does not hold up. Band of Brothers is a film (miniseries) that every American should see. It's not just a "war movie". The real men of Easy Company are featured prominently at the start of each episode. that is when you'll hear these men vehemently deny that they are heroes or celebrities. To quote Babe, "the real men, the real heroes are the fellows that are still buried over there and those that come home to be buried."

Knowing that, I was very reluctant to introduce myself to Babe. I was genuinely starstruck once I realized it was him and could not work up the courage to speak to him. I wondered if I should just leave him alone. I was 99% confident it was him, but just to be sure I stammered a weak "Mr. Heffron?" to which he turned to me and, in his wonderful South Philly accent, replied "yeah, that's me! I'm Babe!" I introduced myself and told him the story about how and why I became a teacher and what an honor it was to meet him. I only talked to him for about 5 minutes, but in those 5 minuets he told me about all the speaking engagements he does all over the country and how important it is to him to make sure people remember and understand the sacrifices that men and women in uniform make. He told me about how he tried to go to Iraq in 2008 (at the age of 85!) but was stuck in Kuwait 'cos of a sandstorm. He told me about how much he can't stand the liberal papers and people who do nothing but slam the United States. I think everyone at the gate was wondering "why is this girl bothering this poor old man?" Like I said, I was hesitant about bothering him because, despite the fact that he does many speaking tours and wears a jacket and cap that proudly display his service, he does not love being a celebrity. Like I said above, he doesn't believe he's a hero and believes very strongly that he is just a guy who did his job.

Now I'm not the kind of person who glorifies military service and thinks it's "cool" and that everyone who dons a uniform is a superheros or something. I think war is awful. To quote Babe's CO, Major Dick Winters, "wars do not make a man great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men." I think the veterans of WWII are men who led awe-inspiring lives and who this world owes a debt of gratitude to that can truly never be repaid.

As if my exchange with him at the gate wasn't enough, as he was exiting the plane he winked at me, handed me a folded up newspaper, and in his awesome South Philly accent says, "here ya go, I wrote ya something!"

There was a two page article in the Philadelphia newspaper about him and his buddy and fellow Easy Company veteran, Bill Guarnere. On the back page he wrote: Thank you for teaching American history! ~ Babe Heffron, Easy Company, 506th, 101st Airborne. "Band of Brothers". I was in awe as I read it. To think that this guy was thanking ME was mind boggling.

The article was all about Babe and Bill fighting for a monument to honors their former commander, Richard Winters, to be erected in Normandy. which would symbolize the leadership of all Americans on D-Day. The statue would include a statue of Winters leading from the front, as all good leaders, and the quote, "wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men." Nothing could sum up my feelings of the men of this generation any better.

I leave you with the last 7 minutes of the Band of Brothers miniseries. It includes a wonderful narrative by Damian Lewis, who portrayed Major Winters, of what all the men did after the war and interviews with the real men of Easy Company. If it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, I might be convinced you're dead inside.

The Story of Lima Company

One more day of regular class!! I'm so excited and antsy I can't even concentrate on the little grading and work I have to finish up. It has been an interesting couple of days. JC has been super busy with school (of course), but he called to tell me that he got a package I sent him. He said it made his day, which was obviously the whole point in sending it so that made me smile. He has a test tomorrow that I know he is nervous about so I wanted to make him smile. Speaking of studying, I emailed the professor of the religion class I will be taking this summer to tell him that I would be missing the first two class meetings and to ask for the syllabus and book list. He got back to me and after reading over the syllabus I am even more excited than ever! I'm sure my tune might change 6 weeks from now, but I am excited to be a student again and have something to do this summer 'cos I HATE doing nothing.

As for the title of my post. I got a comment today on a YouTube video I posted several years ago about the Marines of Lima Company. What is my relation to Lima Company, you ask? I'm an Army girlfriend, with no involvement to the Corps, right? WRONG!

It's quite a long story that starts my senior year of college. I was, at that point, not directly involved or tied to the military in any way shape or form. I was working on finishing up my history degree, which had an emphasis in military history, but aside from a deep admiration for our men and women in uniform, I had no connections whatsover. It was November 2004 and I remember seeing TV footage of Operation Phantom Fury (aka the 2nd battle of Fallujah). I remember being so moved seeing pictures of Marines and Soldiers who looked younger than me and at that moment I started searching for a program that would allow me to do more than just slap a magnet on my car to "Support Our Troops".

So I signed up for a program called Adopt-A-Platoon that would pair me with a deployed servicemember to support for the duration of his/her deployment. It took a couple months and even a phone call to verify that I was in fact, me, and was serious about the support I would provide. I was paired with a 19 year old Lance Corporal in March of '05 at the very start of his Reserve unit's 7 month deployment to Iraq. It was expected to be a rather uneventful deployment and for the first few months it was. I sent letters, emails and packages to my adopted Marine, who was quick to write me back and introduce himself. He told me to longer call him the formal name which the organization had provided me with and immediately picked up on my introductory letter where I informed him that while my name was Abigail, my closest friends and family called me "Abs". His first letter back to me read "Dear Abs" and I knew then that I had been paired with an exceptional young man who was not about to mistake my support as a dating service (like many unfortunately do). He was originally from Ghana, West Africa and his dad had been a U.N officer wounded on duty, which is how he ended up in the states. He joined the Corps right out of high school, but was pursuing a degree at Ohio State and just sounded like an all around exceptional young man. (My dad is still convinced he will end up being the Secretary of State one day!)

Anyway, his company's uneventful deployment sadly ended up being a nightmare. The emails and phone calls I received from him were difficult to read and hear, but he frequently told me how much talking to me helped as I'm sure they weren't things he could tell his family. I was out in Wyoming for much of his deployment and I think he loved hearing my stories about life on the range being chased by buffalo that were so far away from the hell he was enduring. His unit unfortunately ended up being the hardest hit unit to serve in Iraq (they lost 23 members, including 14 in a span of 3 days ). He and I developed a wonderful friendship and my mother and father would even write him sometimes throughout the deployment. Though I was not able to be there for his homecoming (which was an absolutely AMAZING event) because I was out in Wyoming, I did get to go meet him several months later. We kept in touch for several years after, but have unfortunately lost touch over the years.

I was so deeply moved by the trials of his company, and most especially, the way they were welcomed home that about a month after he returned home, that I put together this tribute video together using pictures he sent me while deployed and others from local websites of their homecoming. I get frequent comments and messages about the video, most often from family and friends of those who served, but often from the Marines themselves.



Every time I receive a message I always view the video myself. I know the stories and lives of these fallen Marines so well. Most of them were in my friend's platoon and he has told me a lot about them. Today I received a message that inspired me to check up on the company to see what they were doing and if they were deploying again, which I do every so often. Sure enough my old friend is deploying again, this time as a Corporal in charge of new Marines. He is apparently one of only eight Marines who went through the 2005 deployment that is still with the unit. Although I have not heard from him in several years, I sent him an email to offer my support yet again. I truly hope I hear back from him so that JC and I can support him and his Marines this summer. My life has changed so much since I last talked to him. I think about him often and wonder if he accomplished everything he planned on doing.

Anyway, I must finish making my final and figure out what on earth I should do on my last day of class tomorrow.