It's called gratitude, and that's right

I was watching some show on HGTV a couple nights ago, either My First Place or House Hunters, something during their First Time Home Buyers programming (yes, I watch way too much HGTV). Anyway, the couple searching for a home on this particular show was completely charming and their outlook was a refreshing change from the snobby Debbie Downers that are usually on these shows.

I don't really know what either of them did for a living, but they didn't appear to be rolling in dough and the three houses they looked at were all very humble and modest (dumps). I made up names and backstories for them in which the husband (Allan) is in seminary and the wife (Cindy) stays at home with their kid and works part time doing something involving scrapbooking.

In the house they ended up buying, the washer and dryer were in the one and only bathroom, and they weren't even tucked away in a corner -- you practically ran into them as you walked into the room. Allan did not like the flooring in that room, which looked like the floor of a Fellowship Hall in the basement of an old church, and when we got to see the house after they had been living there for a couple months, he had replaced that floor with some nice slate tiles. They showed Cindy folding laundry on top of the washing machine, smiling and talking about how happy she was to have laundry in the house. She was so genuinely cheerful and positive and grateful that I just wanted to hug her.

Some couples on these shows will stick their noses up and make snotty comments when they walk into a room painted a color they don't like. People, it's just paint! All you have to do to rectify the situation is paint the walls a color you prefer. Are you too hifalutin to pick up a paintbrush? These stuck up prisses act like they can't even consider buying a house if it has a purple bedroom or a green bathroom.

The closet in the master bedroom was one of those long ones with three sliding doors. I know from experience that these closets are kind of a pain to utilize plus one or all of the doors are always coming off the track. Cindy's take on this closet as she looked into both ends: "Look Honey, his and hers closets!" It was adorable, and much better than what I usually have to hear from other people, which is more along the lines of "I guess this one's yours" (husband yuk yuks to wife regarding the entire master bedroom closet) or "Well, this might hold my shoes" (clearly shoe-crazy wife whines about perfectly normal-sized closet).

This couple was finally able to get a dog (they named him Black Jack) for their little boy (Jayden, also his real name), which they had not been able to do while they were living in their no-pets apartment. Cindy was so pleased that they were able to give their son a pet that she didn't mind holding the dog's leash while Jayden and the dog ran around playing catch in the small, unfenced yard. Most times on these shows people will say of much larger yards "Oh, this isn't enough room for Muffin, plus we would have to put up a fence." Cindy was not just content but truly thrilled with and appreciative of what little she had, and that attitude was just so endearing.

And the best part? Throughout their home search, not once did Allan walk into a room and say "Babe, this could be the Man Cave!" And I loved him for that.