Abby Abbott started at Fort Worth Country Day this year as the Head of the Upper School. Although she has had a huge impact on student life and activities, most of the student body hasn’t really taken the time to know her as a person. So, to solve that, she answered a few “This or That” questions to shed a light on her life, both inside FWCD and out.
Q: Morning person or Night person?
A: “A morning person. I get up at 4:20 [am] every day, and if I am at my best, I try and do some biking and a little lifting and coffee, coffee, coffee. And then I try and work for an hour, and then I get ready for the day. [So] a perfect day is up at 4:20 and in bed about to fall asleep at 8:00 p.m.”
Q: Math or English
A: “English”
Q: Coffee or tea
A: “Coffee… I have a little bit of half and half [in it]… Just cream and coffee. No sugar. It’s simple, nothing else. And I can tell immediately if the cup of coffee is going to be good, by its color once I add the cream.”
Q: Monday lunches or Tuesday lunches at Sage
A: “This is so boring. I get the same lunch virtually every day… I get grilled chicken, extra extra pickles, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and I mix it all together, and then I have a piece of toast.”
Q: Sweet or Salty
A: “Salty. The one exception to that is chocolate.”
Q: Red or blue
A: “Red”
Q: Ice Cream or Cookies.
A: “I think cookies…Molasses [is my favorite]…chewy molasses that are on the verge of being under-baked… I just love spice. Like, spicy taste. I really like ginger and molasses and cardamom and anise. I like that flavor palette.”
Q: Beach or Mountains
A: “This is a tough one for me, because I grew up on the beach, but I grew up in Lake Michigan, Northern, a cold beach. You might be thinking of Lake tropical. So that was a big part of my day. Growing up on the lake and collecting stones and swimming and just watching the water.
But recently, I was in New Mexico, and I was exploring, and there are small mountain ranges there. They were breathtaking, and it’s a part of the world that I’d never been to, so that was pretty magical for me. So I say that it’s a tie.”
Q: Texas Summer or Texas Winter
A: “Winters in the Northeast are beautiful because there’s obviously snow, and there’s something so cleansing and invigorating about that. It also can be demoralizing when it is April 1 and you’re trudging through sleet. Yes, summers in the Northeast are pretty pleasant for the most part, unless you’re in, for example, New York City on the hottest day, which is like a concrete heat amplifying jungle.”
“Winters so far in Texas have been so warm and easy and kind of like a nice, soft, gentle hug. So that’s been really fun. We moved here last July, and New York was in the middle of an unprecedented heat dome, so 105 [degrees] in New York, and the humidity was through the roof. So when we got to Texas, it was actually cooler. So I feel like I’m in for like, my first proper Texas summer, and I’m nervous.”
Q: Spring or Fall
A: “Fall, with the exception of the first couple days of spring, which has such a distinct smell, I think no matter where you are in the world it’s something that is fresh and new, and it’s like, full of hope that is a distinct smell. I would recognize that in any type of olfactory challenge you could give me. Yeah, the smell of spring is distinct.”
Q: Dogs or Cats
A: “Dogs… I don’t [have any, but] I used to have a black lab, and she was like a sibling to me. She was so wonderful. But no dogs yet. I know my son Charlie is definitely in the market, so hopefully soon we’ll get one.”
Q: Texas Barbecue or Tex Mex
A: “I had the best brisket tacos recently at Panther City Barbecue. So that was great. So I’m gonna go with that right now. I think day by day depends on what day you ask me. Today, it’s Texas BBQ.”
Q: Texas Heat or Random Texas Ice Storm
A: “Random Texas ice storm.”
