Almost two years ago Josh, Ava and I made Norman our home (click here to relive that moment with us). Norman is like that friend who grows more attractive the longer you know them. You know the one I'm talking about. When you first met you were like, "Yeah, she's cute...but not so cute we can't be friends." The longer you're friends though, you watch her. Her hands are capable of tasks you could never manage. Her eyes catch things you don't see but glance over your imperfections. Her words soothe your hurts and encourage you when you're not sure you can go on. One day you look up and realize she's not just cute, she's radiant. And that, my friends, is Norman. Instead of gushing out a never-ending paragraph with very little punctuation that you'd never read through, I've decided to make my Sparkly love letter to our town in list form. Non-Norman folks may want to skip this post. Fellow Norman residents are encouraged to comment with something you love about this town. I know I'm going to forget something!
- Folks here, for the most part, are just ridiculously warm. I know I can only speak from our experience, but we've been loved on and taken care of in ways I could never have imagined. For example: we're living in a ridiculous house for absolutely nothing, friends have shared their museum, zoo, theater, pool, waterpark passes so that we hardly ever pay to do anything, with one posting on FB we'll have three separate people volunteer to keep Ava, and people are truly thankful when we cook, help out, or even just show up at an event.
- We have made friends in really normal places, like church and law school. However, we've made just as many in unusual places, like the park, Chick-Fil-A bathrooms, and Hobby Lobby fabric-cutting lines. I love that people still speak to one another here, even if you're a stranger you won't be for long.
- The Farmer's Market that runs from April through October is fantastic. With one long stare from Ava's baby blue eyes the farmers will hand over her favorite tiny yellow tomatoes and refuse my money in return. When the Bave miscounts how many honeysticks she can buy for $1, the booth owner will not let me pay the difference...taking a high 5 from Ava instead. Not only is the food we purchase at the Farmer's Market better for our bodies, the shopping experience is just good for the soul.
- I love that the City of Norman's motto is "Building an Inclusive Community". How refreshing.
- Even situations that should be terrifyingly traumatic, like tornadoes and blizzards, are exciting. Everyone just stocks up on delicious food, gets to a safe place, packs in with a ton of friends and rides out the storm together.
- The public library here is superb, and the children's department gives Disneyworld a run for its money as the happiest place on earth.
- Our Wonderful Church (OWC), NorthHaven Church, is one of the main reasons I cannot imagine ever leaving this town. There aren't enough words for me to describe just how authentic, missional and humble the church is. You'll have to click around the website and see for yourself.
- Norman has a small-town feel, but is big enough that people aren't constantly in your business. After being here almost two years, it's odd to run an errand and not see someone I know - but it's always a person I like. This town is just magical like that. It's also close enough to Oklahoma City (15 minutes tops) that you still have access to the 'big city'.
- Norman is the first place that's really felt like home to our little family. We moved here without knowing anyone, but have cultivated a group of family-like friends who continue to blow us away with their kindness. Any time we're gone for a while and return, a tension between my shoulders instantly relaxes the moment we cross city limits. I can breathe here. We are home here. We are thankful for our Sparkly hometown.
