We are not having a Thanksgiving Dinner. I made one last year in October, but not November. I think this year I will make one in November.

• A: Thanksgiving dinner is a lot of work.
• B: Wil doesn’t care about the holiday and try as I might, I just cannot feel Thanksgivingy in October. On a Monday. Before my birthday and Halloween.

a – b = no Thanksgiving Dinner. We are having a special dinner. I bought two out-of-our-budget steaks, which are now marinating in a chipotle tabasco sauce. And while I did not make a pie, I bought one. I caved. But you’d better believe we’ll be thankful for those steaks.

Since it is Thanksgiving, and my birthday is in one week, I have decided to play a game called I’m So Grateful for that this week. The fact is, the world’s been bringing me down lately. Everywhere you turn it seems gloomy and doomy. The banks, the economy, the environment, the landfills, the immigration issues, the housing crisis, Sarah Palin, our crappy apartment, and I’m getting really sick of Stephen Harper’s face. I’m afraid my thinking has been very negative and pessimistic. And that’s not good for me. I know the warning signs.

So I’m going to force myself to think more positively. Every day I’ll try to turn my thinking around. Today I’ll start small with just mentioning how grateful I am to have food on my table and a warm house in which to eat it. And the kittens. And whipped cream in a can, love that stuff, eternally grateful for that. With a grand finale of why I Am So Grateful to turn 41 on the 19th. It’s going to take me a week to figure that one out.