This foreign country.

One of the largest gifts I am thankful for is "Louisiana". The reason it's in quotes is because for me, it isn't just the name of the state I live in; it's the title of this period in my life. When I refer to Louisiana, the state, it is not a subject that belongs on the list of things I am thankful for. But I have to say the bugs, humidity, culture shock, cuisine, geography, and lack of family still doesn't stop me from being thankful that I am here, in "Louisiana".
"Louisiana"
-I get to watch my husband be a dad to my kids. Do you have this? Are you thankful for when he jokes with them or teaches them something new or loves on them after discipline or tucks them in at night?
-I get to take care of a yard/garden. I've never had that before. It's gratifying. It's relaxing and beautiful. Do you take the time to be around flowers? The smell, the colors, the life, it's so pure, such a getaway from the drama of life. It's a seed in dirt that's been watered and sunbathed. Yet, it's a perfect science and balance that works exactly right to come to bloom and be it's own among all the others that are so uniquely different.
-I get to work. I get to make others happy. I get to bring money home, money to buy things we want, go places and do things we've always wanted to. I get to miss my kids. My job makes me that much more thankful for my home and my family. Do you work? Do you like it? Are you thankful for it?
-I get to spend time with my husband. My favorite times are when we're in the huge kitchen taking forever to clean/make dinner because we're talking and goofing off. We're playing with each other, telling each other about friends and family back home and stories of what happened at work. It takes an especially long time because the kids are interrupting with their own things to say. We're all absorbing each other at once. It's fun and loving and idyllic.
-I am thankful that, once again, we're sharing a car. Some of our best times have been because of having to share the car. We get so much communication done in our car rides. Productive, loving, funny, or making up conversations that may have never found time to get talked out gets talked out because we share a car.
-Simplicity. "Louisiana" is simplicity. Not a lot of people anywhere, especially in our lives. Not a lot to do, nowhere to be, just the six of us. Besides work, school, and soccer, we just live, laugh, and love.