I have a confession

I like January

I don’t love it, no, it’s just my friend

I chuck last year’s calendar – the past is past

That’s my concession

There’s something special about the cold and wind

Especially on a Monday morning when it’s dark

Any remaining Christmas lights have lost their spark

But there’s something in me that still has to lace up

Arctic air strikes me like a best friend’s great divulge

I put my face up

I wonder what’s to live for now that I’m getting old

Can happiness be bought

I’ll donate most of the Christmas presents I got

There’s no entrance fee to go outside

January is the best time

The air is so fresh

I take it in with each step

So happy to have another year to run these same streets

Grateful to have these two feet

No one’s on the bridge save the ravens and the pelicans

And the barren trees look like skeletons

But if I run long enough the sun comes up

Its yellow glow illuminates the bellies of the birds in the sky

I could do this every day

For some reason I’m ever present that any day could be the day I die

So I enjoy even the January run sessions

Even in my routine, life keeps me guessin’

Where will these sidewalks take me

The rawness, the nature, time on the run talking with my Creator

All of it makes me – maybe a little tougher, a better lover, a seasoned runner

Another secret: it’s free

Embrace the wonder of January