I’ve talked before about how I never grew up wanting the simple country life we lead. I never dreamed about a white picket fence, or being a mother. I certainly never looked forward to raising my kids in the small town that felt so confining to me as a teenager.

The rush of the city excites me. I thought I might end up there. The cadence of a beach city, especially, draws me. The water rejuvenates my spirit. Blogstalkers know that San Diego is my favorite city in the world… I always kind of figured I’d choose that city to stake my claim on the world.

But here I am.

I’m 26 years old, married, with two children. I live in an old farmhouse with a wrap-around porch, a stone’s throw from my parents and grandparents. This morning, I didn’t rush to work, because I work for myself. Instead, I sat on the porch and watched my half-naked, wild-haired children play in the dirt in the driveway, separating smooth rocks from jagged ones, while my husband painted our closet doors.

And I hugged my arms around myself tight, and thanked God almighty for not giving me anything close to what I asked for.

I wouldn’t say country music is my favorite. I like lots of music, and there are seven decades and dozens of different genres on my iPod. As musicians (lapsed though we may be), Mack and I pride ourselves on being able to enjoy and appreciate the gems in any kind of music… techno to country gold, pop to thrash rock, classical to hip hop, blue grass to broadway. This season, though, country music is really speaking to me.

Songs like, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” (Jake Owen ), “Take A Back Road” (Rodney Atkins), “This” (Darius Rucker), pretty much anything by Lady Antebellum. And of course, always, “Everything is Fine” by Josh Turner.

That’s what this summer is, to me. Barefoot Blue Jean Nights, family time, fish fry, long mornings on the front porch, and being thankful for things I never knew I wanted.