It Starts

Today is Day One of NaBloPoMo! It's one month of daily blogging, and you too can join the madness. And, really, it's not like NaNoWriMo or anything. Comparatively, this should be a snap!

I'm counting on this being an auspicious month, mostly because I have survived October. I had a friend in high school who always hated February; it was a historically bad month for her. I'd never thought of months in terms of their badness or goodness, but recently I'm thinking that my October might be her February. Granted, this year's wasn't nearly as rough as last year's--with its incessant rain, the Great Mouse Wars, and that pesky stress fracture--but it did come with its own struggles.

However, this year, there's even more reason to look forward to November. In just three short days, the U.S.A. will be making history of one sort or another, and I am positively tingling with excitement. Yes, I was excited in 2004, but mostly because I thought we were going to take the opportunity to rid ourselves of--and apologize to the rest of the world for--a mistake of epic proportions, and not because I had any particular interest in the candidate for whom I voted. This time around, the excitement is palpable, in large part because we have the opportunity to vote for a candidate whom many in the country (and again, around the world) not only respect, but actually like, feel energized by, and believe. We have the opportunity to vote for someone we'd enjoy watching and listening to for the next four years. We have the opportunity to vote not out of fear or embarrassment or anger desperation, but out of genuine inspiration and a belief that our country can and will do better--for our own citizens, for the environment, and for our neighbors in the global community.

Here's to November!