A Nice Christmas

Braedon hasn’t gotten the full gist of Christmas just yet and he stayed in bed until well after his parents were up and had already eaten breakfast. As a parent, it was a lot of fun to watch my son open his presents. It was also fun to watch him present his mom’s present to her. Back in October when we visited a pumpkin patch, Braedon was ready to take home the first pumpkin he walked up to. My wife had to constantly tell him to just keep looking. A few weeks ago while we were at the Christmas tree farm on a cold and windy day, both my wife and I, bundled up and shivering, asked Braedon on several occasions, “How’s this tree?” And his reply: “Just keep looking.” To remind Mom of this moment Braedon found a little jack-o-lantern charm for her bracelet and hid it on the tree. So when Mom asked Braedon if he had any presents for her, he simply said, “Just keep looking.”

My in-laws got me a nice, bright yellow, reflective jacket to wear when I run in the dark. I have been wearing a reflective belt when I run, but this jacket is much nicer as it has more reflective material and the functionality of a jacket. My sister sent me a pair of flashing red lights to wear too. I have seen cyclists with these lights and I think they are a good idea for runners/walkers who are out in the dark in or near traffic. They are not too expensive (mine are about $6), and anything you can do to make yourself more visible is a good thing. Wearing my new reflective jacket with one flashing light fastened to the front and one to the back, I set out on an early morning run with a new confidence of being highly visible to motorists. I ran for nearly an hour and a half in darkness before sunrise. I even saw a shooting star – that’s a neat way to begin the day. As the sun rose, my pace quickened and I felt stronger, which probably shouldn’t be too big of a surprise as I could see better and felt better about my footing. The last two miles were downhill, and the sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay was spectacular. I need to start carrying a camera when I run.