Halloween is over and Christmas is coming. But this year, I am on a mission not to forget that holiday that comes in between them.

Thanksgiving.

You know, the one with all the turkey and football. (And, speaking of “the one with,” a lot of good Friends episodes, too.) But it seems like every year, Thanksgiving gets shoved further and further out of the way as retail stores insist that the Christmas season starts right after Halloween. This year, Target even started running commercials that basically said, “Get ready to get ready for Christmas,” in October. And as much as I love Christmas, like Nordstrom, one of the few retail exceptions to that rule, I believe in celebrating one holiday at a time.

One of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten was from someone I had just met. About four years ago, I was on a business trip in Savannah and had dinner with a freelance editor I was working with and had only spoken to on the phone. I was a little nervous about having dinner alone with someone I didn’t know, but she turned out to be awesome and we had some great conversations. At the end of the night, she told me, “You seem like a very positive person.”

I loved being told that, and while it’s true of me often, it certainly isn’t always true. If you read this blog, you know that despite my best efforts, sometimes I can’t resist being emo or bitching and complaining. And while letting out negative emotions can be therapeutic, I think pushing them aside to focus on the positive can be equally so. While there are many things in my life I’m not happy with, there are many more things that bring me joy. And while I do think the phrase “first-world problems” is overused (taken to the extreme, it would pretty much mean that you only have the right to complain if you’re a sick, starving orphan in a developing country), it really does apply to most of the problems I do have.

This year, I am going to attempt to spend this time between Halloween and Thanksgiving being thankful for what I have. Unless some kind of major tragedy (we’re talking death, destruction, or serious injury or illness) happens between now and November 22, all my blog posts during that time will be on what I love and what makes me happy.

This will be especially challenging due to Election Day next week. All the negativity surrounding it, both in the presidential election and in a close senatorial race in Massachusetts, is wearying me. I feel a lot like this little girl:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrthOPLAKM]

And after that, maybe I’ll get back to bitching and moaning. But I’ll do my best not to.