Running through some holiday thoughts

The holiday season is a great time to be with family, celebrate gratitude and toast all that is good in life. As the song says, it’s the “most wonderful time of the year.” But unlike the endless stream of holiday music on radio station 92.1 locally, and unlike the endless good cheer at places like Disney and elsewhere, and unlike the unrelenting marketing of happiness this time of year, life isn’t so straightforward and simple. Deep down, we all know this. As a result, the holidays can be complicated times as well as good times. How was your Thanksgiving? Such a simple question, requiring a smile and a positive response, which you almost exclusively give and receive – as well you should. But again, the holidays can actually be a stressful time filled with various other emotions besides good will and cheer. We live in complicated, divisive times, and everyone wants to tell you their opinion of it – usually on social media, but at holiday gatherings it might actually be front and center, in person. That can lead to very awkward or even downright nasty discussions with well-meaning family and friends.

For my wife Heidi and I, holidays like Thanksgiving can be bittersweet as well celebratory. We are both the youngest in our families, and we have dealt with natural loss of loved ones over the past several years. Traditions that we have known for so long have ended and we struggle to create new ones. Predictably, our children are very resilient and adapt with ease that doesn’t come as naturally to us in middle age. We are working on new traditions, all the while mourning ones that have run their course.

Thanksgiving is the biggest day of the year in terms of participation in road races; fortunately, that’s a tradition that has always been easy locally, with numerous local Turkey Tro races. I was able to join my early morning running pals for the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club’s Turkey Trot 5-miler out at Arlington High School on a bitterly cold morning. Those hills on Cramer Road haven’t gotten any easier through the years. Like the holidays, the hills are always there, waiting for us. And like any old runner, we have to learn to adapt to them as we get older.