The Christmas Run

Merry Christmas! He is with us!

This year, our family is honoring all its key Christmas traditions: Last night there was the vigil Mass, tamales, and exchanging gifts by the tree. This morning, St. Nicholas’ bounty will be awaiting our little ones when they awake. And tonight there’s Christmas dinner at Grammy’s.

But not to be missed, somewhere in the afternoon, when the kids are taking much-needed naps, will be my beloved Christmas run.

This will be nothing exotic, just my usual 5.2 miler — two times around the 2.6-mile loop that begins and ends at my front door, over the hills and through my sleepy little town. But I can hardly wait.

The Christmas Run is glorious for many reasons, not least of which is that, because today is not a workday, I can take it during actual daylight hours! Then there is the joy of passing through town and getting glimpses of other people’s Christmas celebrations — finely dressed relatives pulling up in their cars, kids trying out new toys, lights and decorations everywhere. It’s also a nice chance to catch a breather, to slow down amid this most wonderfully exhausting time of the year.

Better than all this, though, is that the solitude of a run affords the perfect opportunity to really contemplate the meaning of this marvelous day. And to that end, I will be bringing just the right podcasts along on the run. Not sure which one of these I will actually listen to, but Catholic Answers Live offers some great options:

When Jesus Was Born (with Fr. Mitch Pacwa)
The Difference the Incarnation Makes (with Jeff Cavins)
Characters of the Nativity (with Steve Ray)

Happy listening! Happy running! Merry Christmas!