Why I Love Norberta

Well, I got engaged recently, so I figured I should probably post something on here about it. I mean, it's a significant life event, right? Probably blog-worthy, I suppose. The problem with trying to summarize your fiancée in a blog post is that you've spent so long growing to love her that anything written seems shallow and inadequate. So, with apologies in advance for the inherent failings, here's why I love "Norberta."

(Oh, and if you're already groaning from sappiness and such, please feel free to skip this one.)

I first began to be attracted to Norberta as I read her blog entries during her time at the Jerusalem Center. I first read them just out of curiosity, but I was increasingly impressed by the spiritual applications to her own life that she made while visiting the various sites. She didn’t just talk about how she liked visiting the Garden Tomb, or how she felt for the people in a land torn by conflict; she wrote about what it meant to her and what she could change in her own life because of it. She wrote about her growing love for the hymns of the Church, for the city of Jerusalem, and for the people she met there. I especially remember being very impressed by her love for the Gospel and her caring attitude toward those around her.

Norberta is always striving to become a better person. She’s got a list of things she doesn’t like, but instead of staying away from them, she works on learning to like them. She makes active decisions about the kind of person she wants to be, and then she works toward becoming that person. She makes delicious meals all the time, and is constantly trying out new recipes to become even better. She’s always watching out for me, and has taken care of me when I was sick or needing help on numerous occasions. She reads books for the joy of reading, she quilts for the joy of quilting, and she gardens for the joy of gardening. As far as the “domestic housewife skills” category goes, she’s got it well covered.

More than all that, though, I love the way that Norberta and I can communicate with each other. All those things that you just don’t know quite how to describe, we understand implicitly. There have been so many times when I wanted to say something but didn’t even know how to start. Before I even said a word, she filled in all the words I was struggling to find. I don’t think a week goes by when we don’t tell the other to “stop reading my mind!” We make the same side comments, we think the same thoughts, and we even try to tell the same jokes at the same time. (It doesn’t work so well, as we end up laughing at each other before the joke ever gets told.)

I love that I never have to wonder about Norberta’s priorities. She loves the Lord and actively seeks to grow spiritually and draw closer to her Father in Heaven. She recognizes the great calling and responsibility that is motherhood, and desires to be a full-time mom. Her heart is set on the things of the Spirit, and nothing comes before that. She’s served as Relief Society President in our ward for the last year, and though it’s been difficult for her on a number of occasions, I’ve never heard her wish she didn’t have that responsibility. She’s been called to serve the Lord and so she does. It’s as simple as that.

I could go on for a while about the many ways that Norberta and I are similar. We met with our bishop the other day, and he reminded us that our children will be “as different from each other as the two of you are.” We turned to each other and laughed, because if that’s true, we might as well get a cookie-cutter mold for people. We joke that we’re really the same person, just inhabiting two bodies. Everything just feels right. Everything feels like it’s meant to be. I honestly love her, and couldn't be happier.