I don't know how you're feeling right now but I have a strong sense of things winding down.

The third and final debate between political rivals John McCain and Barack Obama takes place this week. That milestone brings us to within three weeks of Election Day.

As important as this election is for the future of this country, I'll confess that my dominant feeling at this point can best be summarized in a single word: finally!

The economy is winding down, too, although that is not cause for celebration. It does seem that investors have pulled themselves together from little puddles of nerves on the floor, and have now resumed their natural forms.

And Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has finally decided what he wants to do first with all that money Congress said it would give him to work with. I'm sure somebody somewhere feels better about that.

In the midst of all this headline-generating turmoil, it somehow feels like everybody has settled down to wait. Momentous things are underway in these United States and nobody knows how the play is going to end.

About all we do know is that things will be very different by the time the dust settles.

And then, too, perhaps we all subconsciously recognize that this period in mid-October is our last chance to take a long collective break before the year-end crazies descend upon us.

Halloween is right around the corner.

Hard on the heels of all that junk food, we in this country will celebrate our Thanksgiving (which our Canadian friends celebrated last weekend).

And then there will be whichever in the hodge-podge of year-end gift giving holidays floats your boat.

There will also be end of year selling for our friends in retail, last minute booking before everybody becomes completely impossible to get on the phone in November and December, and the dreary annual ritual of contemplating this year's tax filings.

It's almost time to close the books on 2008. I have a feeling a lot of us are ready.