Blue Christmas

It's been a bit of a Blue Christmas for our family this year.  

I tested Jude earlier this afternoon and, unfortunately, she is still Covid-19 positive.  She was disappointed, I know, because she's been isolating for the most part, non-stop, for almost a week.  She loves the holidays in the same way that my mom did, so it's been especially hard for her to not be able to spend time with the boys and me the way she want to while she is off work.

Fortunately, she is feeling better, I think, which is a good.  Also, we're keeping in mind the fact that people are dying of Covid-19 still, every day, so Jude and I have been blessed to have relatively mild cases.  She is past the 5 - 6 day period of isolation the CDC recommends after the onset of symptoms.  Still, the CDC guidelines for dealing with Covid-19 have changed so many times that it's hard to know what to believe.  

For example, I left isolation on or about the sixth day after the onset of symptoms, then tested negative on December 11, 2022.  I don't think I could have given the virus to Jude - or Andrea at work, for that matter - but who the hell really knows?  I did not take a second Covid-19 test 48 hours after my first negative test, which is what the CDC guidelines suggest.  Now, I'm wondering if I could have been a false negative, then spread the virus to Jude and Andrea.  Damn, I hope not.  

Adding insult to injury, Joe started feeling poorly after the boys came downstairs this morning to see what Santa Claus brought them and to open our stockings.  He had been coughing badly the last couple of days and this morning his throat was sore.  He went back to bed mid-morning, got up for a bit to watch football with JP and me, then faded.  He's been sleeping again for a few hours, although we're going to have to wake him soon so he can sleep tonight (it's almost 5:30 p.m. now).

A highlight of Christmas for me was the cold weather four mile neighborhood run JP and I went on yesterday about 4:00 p.m., must before it got dark.  It's been bone chilling cold - the coldest Christmas Eve and Christmas in many, many years, which has kept us inside for the most part.  It was 20 degrees when JP and I ran, with a wind chill significant in the low teens.  

For more than 30 years, my favorite time to run has been winter - my favorite season - and I was excited to get JP out for a run in the cold.  When I suggested we go for a run, he was dubious but he warmed up to the idea - pun intended - when I outfitted him with cold weather running gear.  Brooks tights and mittens from me and a long sleeve shirt, jacket, and gaitor from his closet.  He found an old Saucony running cap I gave him years ago, too.

I ran in tights, too, which is very rare for me.  My rule of thumb, for years, has been to wear shorts unless it's less than 26 degrees outside.  Why 26 degrees as the cutoff temperature?  I have no idea.  There might - and I mean might - be one or two occasions throughout the year when I wear tights for a run.  Typically, like today, I wear shorts and long compression socks and I am good to go.

Predictably, JP and I had a fantastic run.  He's been focused on soccer and, more recently, basketball, so we haven't had the opportunity to run together recently (other than our run at Sewanee over the Thanksgiving holiday).  With "The Haunting" playlist from Spotify as our background music, we ran through our current neighborhood and our old one, too, finishing on Belmont Boulevard to get to four miles. 

Mostly, we ran in silence, as we normally do, although we talked a bit now and then.  I dropped a few hints about how to run safely when there is ice and snow on the ground, as was the case yesterday.  Patches, mostly, but still, one false step and you can be looking at an injury that sidelines you for a while. 

As we ran down 10th Avenue - my old stomping grounds and a road I've run more than any other in my life, I think - I thanked him for the run.  As I've written in this space before, I don't take any run with JP for granted.  Every run with him, for me, is a gift.  My run with JP yesterday was a Christmas gift - the best one I could possibly receive, actually.

What I loved the most about yesterday's run, though, is what it taught him (or so I hope).  It's never too cold to run outside.  It can be too hot but it can never be too cold, as long as you have the right gear.  I've always felt that way.  It makes me feel good to run when I know others are not running.  In the cold, in the heat, early or late.  

I felt a kinship with JP when, unprompted, he said to me, "it's pretty cool that we're running when nobody else is running."  He gets it, I thought, in the same way that I do.  One of the things that separates runners is who is willing to run run in less than optimal conditions.  It matters, to me, at least.

It's been a mixed bag, this Christmas.  We're not done yet, so I will write about the highlights later, but this is where we are, for now.

Merry Christmas, although it does have a blue tint to it.