Thoughts on Bloomington

A very long-overdue list awaits you.

1. It's COLD. :) The much anticipated winter has arrived. Yes, not technically winter yet according to the calendar, but the weather could argue with that. Bloomington got it's first big snow last Saturday. I think we got 1-2 inches. It was so beautiful. It stayed around till Monday. We get snow flurries a lot, but then they just melt away. We had 7 or more straight days of 30s or below as the high. The other day it was 15 degrees at 11 o'clock in the morning! It's COLD.

2. Neighborhood streets become ghost towns in the winter. I truly hadn't prepared myself for the contrast of talking and socializing daily with my neighbors to not seeing any living body for a week straight! It's not because people are too busy, or sick, or gone. Once you run into them at the library or YMCA, everyone has the same response: it's just so dang cold. Everyone just stays locked up in their homes. Suddenly the mall becomes VERY crowded even on week nights because everyone is trying to feel a little more extroverted during this strange season.

3. Seasons mean so much more to me here then ever before. All the pictures that have ever been painted for me in art or books of winter now make sense! Everyone walking around in big coats, hats, gloves, with pink cheeks; snow and ice accumulating everywhere, Christmas lights shining off of the precipitation, chimney smoke floating above all the houses, the squeaking of wet boots in stores.... you get the idea. It is magical. The town square is painted in lights with a giant Christmas tree. There's a specific area there to drop your letters to Santa off and I've even heard that certain requests are answered by mysterious secret santas. Summer was energizing, Fall was refreshing and gorgeous, and so far, Winter hasn't disappointed. I realize there is a lot more winter coming that won't seem so endearing, but just let me be for now. :)

4. The friendliness factor of people here consistently outshines any other trait. There is such a mix of backgrounds and personas here. I love it. I've always thought I lived among a lot of diversity, but I'm not sure anything compares to here. In the end, everyone I meet is friendly... so curious about eachothers beliefs, upbringings, careers, families, etc. I'm constantly learning something from just about everyone I meet. In preparing to move here, I was told that midwesterners are more guarded and take time to open up. So far, that tale has not held up in this town.

5. Wealth takes a different form here. This is something I observed almost immediately but wanted to give myself time to know if it was true. In general, people don't flaunt their wealth with expensive cars, posh clothing, or giant mansions. In fact, I can honestly say that in 6 months of living here, I've seen less than 10 cars that bear the name Lexus, BMW or Mercedes. Seriously. And if you know North Texas at all, you can just imagine how shocking this is. In fact, the drive from the airport to my sister's house for Thanksgiving just 2 weeks ago became a shocking reintroduction to how much money is running around Dallas/ Fort Worth. Or atleast the illusion of it. :) So where does the money in Bloomington go, you ask? From what I can tell so far, a LOT of it gets given away. People are very charitable here. Volunteerism is a town principle and nothing reserved for only churches. People are also very hardworking and somewhat frugal. The president of my husband's company is a great example. He is #68 on Forbe's list of America's most wealthy people. Impressive, yes. However, the man just finally got his first garage built on his property last year and continues to live in a modest area of town---the same house he and his wife have lived in for a veeeeeeeeery long time. Even though it isn't true, I get the feeling here (as I did all through my childhood) that everyone is pretty much the same. Just living life together, working hard and having fun.

6. I'm running out of steam. :) No really, I have so much to say about this town, but I'm getting tired and the laundry is shouting my name. But I'll give you one more for now. Everyone here is very loyal to this town. You don't hear people talking about it's faults or disadvantages. No matter how long someone has been here, they seem to talk of Bloomington with those fresh eyes of someone like me. People. Love. This. Town. Here's an example. One of my babysitter's, Jasmine, had this story about her family. They are from Indianapolis (1 hour north--big city). Her brother came to school at IU and after some time, told his family that he loved it so much and he knows they would too. He begged them to think about moving here. After some exploration, they decided it would be a great idea. So they hauled the family down here and opened up Bloomington Running Company on the main town square 2 years ago. Now Jasmine is a sophmore at IU and they all love this city. Another example is a couple we met in Malibu last year who live there and work at Pepperdine. They happened to pass through Bloomington for only 4 years during the husband's PhD program. They said they would move back here in a heartbeat if they could. Really? They were dead serious. Coming from SoCal, I didn't imagine someone would ever say they preferred a small town in the midwest over Cali...especially the stunningly beautiful, Malibu.

It is fun to live in a place that people are passionate about.

That beautiful white stuff!

I woke up to screaming outside. Unsure of what that was I ran to check on Noah and he was sound asleep. I went back to bed and lay there for awhile listening to the commotion outside. I wasn't sure why the kids would be so loud outside at 7:40am! I finally got up and as I moved by the window I noticed something white. I ran to the window and found a blanket of white stuff over everything. What a surprise! It is so beautiful. Adults and children are playing outside (even though there isn't all that much snow to play with yet). I even met my backyard neighbor that I hadn't met in 5 months! You just feel like you are in this utopia kind of world. Everyone is happy and excited and no one is worried about the roads, etc. Much unlike what is going on in Colorado I'm sure. Anyway, Brian is in Waco and I'm slightly concerned about him getting home, but other than that, we'll enjoy our day inside, staring at the gorgeous outside.