Shawna's Tulsa Chapter 1

I loved this email from our daughter Shawna so much, I had to repost it here in case some of you aren't on her email list. I love her writing style and the way I identify new feelings when I read it. She is an amazing young lady who I had the privilege to raise, and am amazed at how she seems okay with that. So here you go...

Tulsa, chapter 1

Hello, fantastic human beings. It is with the happiest sigh and fist-supporting-cheek that I bring you the first of several letters, from a Midwestern town far far away from home.

Tulsa is a city of many opportunities, and I intend to greet them each.  There are so many places for an artsy-fartsy wildebeest like me to find a watering hole. The Blue Dome District, for example, is a little area around 2^nd street where handmade shops and dirty music venues aplenty give me great delight. History lessons have taught me that in the 1920s, the Blue Dome District was originally just a grimy gas station where weary travelers from route 66 would stop at all hours of the night and wake the attendant who lived in the upstairs dome-shaped part of the building, to get some service and travel on. Today, it’s about as charming.

Our life here is a pleasant one. Living with my two very best friends- my husband and my brother- has proved comical and vexatious, encouraging and ball-busting. And I am learning all sorts of things about my friends. I have noticed that Evan makes his bed every day.  Jake, also and as always, is a wonderful person to live with. He has made good friends with an elderly gentleman that lives next door. Norville and his wife, Leeann, are just the sort of neighbors we had hoped for, as they are sweet and eccentric indeed. All around the clock, Norville watches our coming and going from his window, and assures us that he’s keeping an eye out for each of us. He has often reported to us how many times we’d left and came home in a given day, just so we’re aware. On the other side of us is a young single mother, Tiffany, and her little boy, who are equally fine neighbors.

I have begun employment at Pier 1, and it has surprised me with its rewards. Kristen is my sales leader, and the sweetest human I’ve ever encountered. Her warm smile and little pregnant belly match her kind words and gentle personality. She is to be wed to a military man, when he comes home from the war in March. Their baby is due in July. There are other coworker friends, too. Jennifer has worked there for three years, and has recently finished her degree. Jared opts to skateboard to work, rather than walk or drive, and lives with some friends in a soon-to-be art gallery/music venue. Margie is my oldest coworker, in her forties, and is married to a geologist. His work has caused them to live in ten different states, and three different countries, including Indonesia, where they lived for six years. When she talks about the adventure of living in so many different places, one can see all of her teeth. I am proud to know such people.

As for our team that is working on the new church, they are terrific. I thank our good God for them daily. It is also a blessing to me that so many of them are children. Last week I got to hang out with five-year-old Annie Trout, and we played Star Wars for hours. Because of our lack of light sabers, we each clutched a bunny slipper in our right hand, and fought like fierce Jedis. The force was strong with her. Earlier this week I spent time with six-year-old Colin Fitch, who told me with all hope and intent that he wants to be a great donut-maker when he grows up. As he described in great detail the kinds of sprinkles he would adorn them with, I knew without a doubt that if anyone can be a great donut-maker, it’s Colin Fitch.

And for now, I’ll leave you with this. I don’t have much money, and my life is not so fancy. I don’t know a lot, as far as smarts generally go. My two ears are very different from one another, in size and location, which causes my sunglasses to tilt noticeably. Sometimes I snore a little. But I am married to a kind, respectable man. I have a generous and caring family. My life is adventurous and decently sensible, and filled with beauty. I’m happy.

I hope you are happy, you fantastic human beings.

Shawna