About three years ago (maybe more), I started my own Christmas day tradition. After opening gifts and eating breakfast, I’d put on my new running gear and pound the pavement. In years past, my runs were peaceful, beautiful, and laden with snow. A perfect time for reflection on the past year. I started looking forward to these runs weeks before Christmas. By that point in the year, I would be a little tired of running the same roads in Charlotte, NC. And, if you’re from the south, there’s nothing like a run in the snow. It’s calm, clear, cold, and so peaceful.
Well, this year was a little different.
It was around 55 degrees, brown, and to be honest, quite gross.
The roads felt longer, my feet burned, and I felt blisters beginning to form. But, my mind was clear and I, as usual, felt at peace.
2014 was a wonderful year, and at that point, I was convinced that it was one of the best years of my life. On my Christmas day run in 2014, I took this picture:
I loved it. For a couple reasons: One, I knew I was about to head back south and I could easily find a beach to go to if I wanted… so no “Beach Closed” for me! And, two, it was yet again another peaceful moment.
“Right now, the beach is closed, but warmer, brighter days are coming.”
I took this peaceful moment into 2015. But, 2015 was not what I expected it to be, whatsoever. It was good, it was great, and it was bad… to the point where I’m ready to say, “Good riddance” and welcome 2016 with open arms.
Yesterday, I was excited to run past the beach. I’d hoped to recapture the picture I took last year, breathe in the peaceful moment, and think about the beautiful things that are to come.
Instead I found this:
Ugh. Of course.
I took my picture. I didn’t pick up the sign. I didn’t put it back in its place. I just left it there. Where it belongs. And I kept on running.
The wonderful thing about ringing in a new year, is just that. It’s a new year. A new beginning.
I recently had a friend tell me that 2016 is just the beginning of the rest of our lives. So, let’s make it that. Let’s make 2016 the catalyst that sparks beautiful new things: people, places, adventures.
And, like the “Beach Closed” sign, let’s leave 2015 where it belongs: in the past.
