The First Run of the New Year

With Mister Tristan around (the 4 year old human being, not the blog), plus Christmas, coupled with our love of trains, we saw a LOT of The Polar Express the past few weeks.

So I was reminded this morning of the scene in the movie where the boy is selected by Santa to receive The First Gift of Christmas, a pretty big deal.  And the boy opts not for some major toy but rather simply asks Santa for a sleigh bell that had fallen from one of the reindeer's harness.

So today was The First Run of the New Year, simple but symbolic.  I was a tad underdressed, having not properly focused on the weather whne I dressed--I thought it was 10 F warmer and that there would be little or no wind (wrong!), so it was quite a chilly run. 

But it was a great harbinger for the year--I hope--in that I felt strong, swift, and powerful.  I felt, in the words of the poet Mary Oliver:

"I feel my heart pumping hard, I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.  I want to be light and frolicsome.  I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings." -- Mary Oliver, 'Starlings in Winter'
 

Here's hoping to great running for all of us in 2013.