Thursday, December 27, 2007

Body and soul need new challenges.
The Manual of the Warrior of Light

I'm in a bit of a post-Christmas funk. My visiting family members have left, my house is a disaster, I've eaten too much junk and hardly run, and I still have no idea what I am doing next year. Getting through the holidays is a little like an ultra: tons of prep, lots of work to make it successful, excitement, fun, love, endurance and commitment, and then it's over. I come from a big family, so Christmas is always fairly chaotic, but it's a blast. We are on overdrive the whole time. Then, when everyone leaves, it's both a relief and sad.

There is never a dull moment. My sister, mother and I laugh for five days straight. The men can't get us to shut up! We cook and eat, and eat and cook. We play the "humming game." We drive around so that out-of-town relatives can see how everything is changing in El Paso. We light luminarias on Christmas Eve and then walk around the neighborhood admiring everyone else's luminarias, taking in the stillness of the night and the beauty of the desert in winter - cold and clear. We hug and laugh and talk about our hopes and dreams for the coming year. My 93 year-old grandmother regales us with hilarious stories of her childhood when she "ran wild." My father gives a Christmas toast that leaves us in tears, telling each of us how much he loves us and all that he is thankful for in his life. We stay up late and get up early, eagerly anticipating that first cup of coffee around the breakfast table where someone is always waiting to talk. We hear my kids awake at 4:00 in the morning, cheering in the den when they see what "Santa" (sadly, they don't still believe) has left them. The adults smile at the irony that the favorite gift is the $15 marshmallow gun rather than the "big" gift. I feel love, and feel loved.

And now it is over. I'm trying to get my head around the coming year. Everyone seems to already have decided what they are doing. I feel a little lost. I'm ready to make plans, but have some scheduling issues that I'm not certain about. I feel slow, like a bear woken up early from hibernation. I just want to go back to bed! In fact, maybe I will. The Christmas mess will still be there in a couple (or three) hours, after a good nap. It is blowing like crazy (50-60 miles per hour), so I can't (really) go outside. Yes, a nap sounds like a very good idea. Maybe it will refresh my brain and body so that I will be able to imagine new challenges.

8 comments:

Ronda said...

Your family sounds wonderful and the description of the celebration makes me jealous. Coming for a tiny family where memories and time together have never been a priorty make your story very nice to hear. Bill and I have made our own holiday traditions and hope when we are old and visit our son and his family he will tell tales such as yours.

Don't worry about 08....there is still a lot time for decisions, goal setting,training and racing. For now relish the chaos of your holiday celebration.

Carilyn said...

Ronda,
Thanks so much for your nice comment. I so enjoy reading about your "extended family" of running friends and all of the great times you have together. You seem to have made the Christmas holiday a blast for your family and big circle of friends. You may come from a small biological family, but you have created a big family that definitely seems to love and support each other.

Anonymous said...

hello!
I'm a big Paulo Coelho's fan and I don't know if you heard about his blog
http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com
I've started as a fan and now I'm collaborating with him and thought that you would like to enter his universe.
Check the blog.
if you want, or subscribe to his newsletter
http://www.warriorofthelight.com/engl/index.html
You'll see a community of warriors of light sharing ideas, dreams and most importantly following their personal legend.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

A Warrior of Light needs both patience and speed. ( Manual of the Warrior of Light)

Merry Christmas!

Aart

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Hey Carilyn...ya I am in a funk tooo, eating way to much junk...been crazy busy doing all this family & friends Holiday Party tour--lol need to get back to FL soon to get back to serious trainings.

I am heading out now for a trail run with a buddy up in North Jersey then gonna go watch a live band tonight....so it should be a blast.

Have a Happy New Year !!!

Bev said...

Nice post. You are a gifted writer. Made me feel like I was there with you all.

texasrunningjournal.blogspot.com

Carilyn said...

Great blog, Bev! Glad to see another runner from Texas! Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by!

Bev said...

Just wanted to let you know I have linked to your blog from mine.

Thanks for the motivation.

texasrunningjournal.blogspot.com

onepinkfuzzy said...

this post brought a smile to my face. beautiful.

happy new year :)