When I first met Abby* I was around 22-years-old. I was only a year or two older than she is now. She was a cute, outgoing 12-year-old; the younger cousin of a friend I'd had since the age of 15. We were at her younger brother's baseball game and she begged for a ride in my new sports car. I proudly obliged.
After the game, she made a point to tell me that she and I should go hang out sometime. With a bit of a shy side myself, I was impressed by her tenacity. I told her we would and I made sure we did.
When I picked her up for our outing, she was talkative and friendly. However, as we got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant, she got noticeably quiet, obviously worried. I asked what was up. She said, "I don't think I have the money to pay for this."
I was stunned. I had never met a kid who didn't take for granted the adult in the situation was going to take care of them.
I learned a lot about Abby over the years. I learned she had a tough childhood, that she'd had to grow up too fast. I watched her live in uncertainty, instability and near homelessness. I witnessed her struggle to remain positive, and hopeful, and kind despite circumstances that were anything but ideal and far from her control.
Abby is leaving for Afghanistan in the next few weeks. She will be gone a year at a time when we, as citizens, are being warned that we are not going to like the death toll in the fight ahead of us as we struggle to assist that country.
I have shared with you about Abby as a person. There are also things to know about her as a soldier: she's smart, and loyal, and strong. You don't know her, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that she'd have your back if you ever needed it. She strives to improve, to learn, to make her world and the world of those around her better. There isn't a child in our country or another she won't stop to assist, there isn't a man or woman of any nationality she won't listen to, there isn't a fellow soldier who can't count on her for anything they might need.
Oh, yeah. When she dates, she prefers women to men. But really. Who cares?
*name changed for privacy
