First Christmas in Maine

I try to make a point of running on special occasions. I could call it a tradition, but it’s really just another way to get myself out of bed on a cold morning. Today, however, is special. Today is Christmas. And so far, it’s been on of my favorites.

The first thing I did was debate over going out at all. It was cold, it was early, etc. I went over all the excuses, and finally landed on a good one. I had plenty of sleep last night, and I was going to be awake anyway. Might as well move around a bit. I dressed properly, so the cold didn’t bug me too much. Once I was out there, I got that familiar runner’s buzz and headed downtown for a last in-season look at all the downtown Christmas lights.

I was a bit surprised by the lack of other people around. Even at 5:30am, there’s usually some kind of activity. Today I saw a grand total of two cars and one guy on foot. Christmas morning is apparently a good time to sleep in here. Same as everywhere else, I suppose. And I wasn’t surprised to be alone out there so early in the morning. I normally don’t see other folks running downtown until after I’m all cleaned up and walking the dog. Just so you can get an idea, here’s a pic from my well-travelled (read: beat-up) iPhone 4.

I did see the first car at about the time I took the photo above, and I even spotted a a local news van next to the big Christmas tree. But I didn’t see any news guys. It was kind of nice and kind of creepy, all at the same time.

Home for Christmas

After an improvised 5K loop I found myself at home, just in time to greet the newspaper ladies delivering to my neighbors. Bummer that they have to work on Christmas, but at least they were in good spirits. Then it was back to the routine. Start the coffee, clean myself up, walk the dog, wake the wife… and then open presents.

So far things have been wonderful. As I write this, the clouds above Portland are dropping a pretty serious amount of snow. I’ll have to shovel that later, but for now I need to get back to Christmas. Cara is out of the shower, and we have some Charlie Brown to watch.

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