Family Holiday

Each Christmas Holiday season, I watch stresses build within my friends and in strangers. They rush around frantically, searching for the perfect gifts and preparing their homes for visitors. I've always packed up my gifts early and sent them to family, completing all my holiday prep by Dec. 10 just so packages arrive on time. Then I sit back, enjoy my peppermint coffee and observe the madness.

This year, we actually had family visit. For the first time in my adult life, I spent Christmas and the New Year with a member of my family: my brother, Chris.

Once a runner, he turned to weight lifting after one year of college cross country that physically burned him out. He'd tell me how buff he was getting. Scrawny Chris was getting JACKED, suuuuuure. I never believed it. I told him that he better start building endurance to keep up with us on his visit. He laughed and said he didn't need it. Coming from his home at 7,500 ft. in Santa Fe, he figured he would leave US in the dust running near our sea-level home.
As Matt loaded his bag into the trunk of the car, Chris gave me a big squeeze hug and lifted me from the ground. He sure was strong. Until....
We took him running. I assured him that we would go slow on our run. He thought that a 12:00/mi sounded easy. It was a lot of fun and we did go slow. As he speaks exclusively in sarcasm, it is sometimes hard to tell if Chris is really enjoying something.

Oh c'mon little brother, you know you love me!!

Those three miles would trash him (and his knee, the main reason he stopped running in college) for the remainder of the week. There are so many different types of fitness and this run made that point glaringly obvious for us. Matt and I have endurance and can keep going, but lifting heavy things? Leaves us sore for days. Chris appeared to have the opposite problem.
We found a jet ski buried in the sand on the beach. I always enjoy imagining how far the debris traveled from. Did the person crash their jet ski? Were they okay? Or did a storm rip it from a dock somewhere.
After our run, we drove away, Chris buzzing high off his first runner's high in years. He said that he needed to start running again (probably just so he is faster than his sister again). What we all think is a good idea during a runner's high and reality is often very different. I think that all my good (Matt may not agree they are good) running ideas are born from the Runner's High euphoria.
We made a stop north of Trinidad. When we have visitors, we like to explore at least one place that we have not visited before. College Cove was that place.
We walked down a path that was carved from a very dense and tangled mass of shrubs and blackberry brambles. Without heavy grooming, this trail would disappear within six months. Things grow quickly around here.
Perching on bare rocks above the Pacific Ocean, we watched the waves crash along the shore while the sun set. I love that this section of coastline is so void of human intervention. No summer homes. Just rocks and water.

Homemade pizza for dinner with a cutie brother. Proof that I didn't hog
all of our family's good looks for myself ;) hehe.