Category: Christmas

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Christmas December Happy Holidays Love New Year Thankful

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

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Written By: Preston Thompson

I hope the frigid temperatures from the arctic blast of 2022 does not prevent the warmth inside. With temperatures dipping into the single digits in the South and windchills making it feel like negative temperatures, I write this to thank you all for a wonderful 2022! It was a great, yet challenging, year but we made it! I learned so much about myself professionally and personally.

As we open up the gifts from under the tree, have (or already had) a Christmas Party, listen to Christmas music, toast, and spend time with family, I wish you all the best Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2022! Let’s close out the year on a high note. See you all in 2023!

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2022 5k Christmas Conditioning December Fitness Healthy Lifestyle November Race Running Training

Running My First 5K

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Week 0: Signing Up

I do not have a true athletic background. As far as team sports with competitive play goes, my resume is not spectacular. The “somewhat” athletic experience I have are at fitness centers where I am working out to my own pace.

With that being said, I do not know what it takes to be a true athlete pushing myself beyond my physical limits. Although I played some sports in more fun than competitive leagues, I do not know what it is like to practice daily for countless hours conditioning and training my body for the next game. My current body and mind have very little discipline to become a true athlete.

In Week 0, my wife and I signed up. Excited, yet nervous, I know we will do well. Signing up was the step to prove to myself I can run one. No need to focus on what I have not done in the past or what the other runners have done, I am challenging myself to do something I did not envision I would be doing in my mid-30s. Before taking a step on anybody’s treadmill or running a single mile outside during South Carolina’s unpredictable Fall weather patterns, I told myself I can do this. Running my first 5K in my mid-30s sounds crazy but that feeling of a runner’s accomplishment and the preparation before the actual run feels like it will be more rewarding when it is all said and done.

So, with that being said, why do I want to run a 5K? And not just a 5K, but my very first one. One that I will be running in my mid-30s when most started running 5K’s in their teens and twenties. It is simple. It has always been on my mind to be able to run long distances without getting tired after a short run. I have tried running on my own in the past at my own time and pace, but it got me little results or reaching my goal. I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, so signing up for a 5K would motivate me to continue conditioning even after completing my very first run. It will discipline me to stay on a healthy routine. Just like school, I am more disciplined to studying when there is a test involved. Well, I see this 5K as a test to my physical health. Will my health and endurance improved when I am challenged to run/walk 3.2 miles in a race to the finish line with other runners? Going against my norm, what am I made of when I am running on the day of the 5K? Will I surprise myself or give in to fatigue? Most importantly, how well will my training and conditioning be leading up to the 5K run day?

I cannot answer those questions at the moment. However, I will find those answers through training. Through the process of training and conditioning I hope I find out just how determined I am to reach my physical fitness goals.

Stick around. My journey to running in my first 5K is just beginning.

Written By: Preston Thompson

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Christmas Holidays Music Thanksgiving

I Tried Waiting for Thanksgiving to Start Listening to Christmas Music, but…

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…I failed! And this year it happened three days after Halloween. Let me explain.

It was the day after Halloween. The Spiderman costumes were stored away. The candy bowl still filled with treats. No more children ringing the doorbell for their trick or treat candy. My family peacefully sleeping. I, on the other hand, was sitting in my car preparing to drive to work. The heat inside was set to a comfortable setting while the temperature outside was cool that morning. Here I am scrolling through Apple Music finding good music to listen to before the drive. I took a sip of iced coffee and pressed the “Search” image on the app. The search page appeared on screen, and there it was! A box with a purple background with Christmas lights in the top right corner titled “Holiday.”

“Should I?” I asked myself while taking another sip of iced coffee. “No, it’s too early for Christmas music. Like besides, Halloween just ended. Let Thanksgiving come first, then play all the Christmas music I want from that day until New Year’s.” I pressed the “R&B” box, found a suitable playlist for my drive, and drove to work.

Work was busy that day. Test after test, an endless cycle. Around 1:00 p.m. I took my lunch break. The room was empty as I sat at a table near the exit and begam to check Facebook. The first thing I saw was one of my friends posted he started listening to Christmas music today and does not care what anyone thinks. “Ok, is Facebook listening to my thoughts?” I asked myself. “These algorithms are getting too personal nowadays.”

Two days later I repeated the same cycle before leaving for work. As I took a sip of iced coffee inside of my car, I pressed the Apple Music app in search of music. Pressing on the “Search” image, and there read the word “Holiday.” This day I actually pressed it and the first thing I saw on its page is “Christmas Playlist.” Below this title read “Essential Christmas.” I press on the playlist, and the first song I see is Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Memories of Christmases pass began to flood my thoughts. I can never escape this song. From a kid to man, I never missed a Christmas season where I did not hear this song. I have heard it so much a few years ago I stopped singing along to Mariah Carey and just sing with the background singers. And here I am three weeks later still playing Christmas songs.

And this would be the day I began listening to Christmas music this year. Three weeks before Thanksgiving, four days after Halloween. I tried to stay strong, but it is the Holiday season.

What about you? When do you normally start listening to Christmas music? After Thanksgiving? The week of Thanksgiving? At the start of November? Year around?

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

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Christmas Holidays New Year Question Thoughts

After the Holidays

               Hello! Merry Christmas, Happy Day After Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Happy New Year’s Eve, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Winter Solstice Day (for those guided by the universe). December is a special month that brings joy to some but can also be a sad time for others. As we decorate the Christmas tree, put up lights inside and outside of the house, drink eggnog (or apple cider), sing Christmas carols, enjoy Christmas movies with the same plot, and shop for those special people in our lives, it is also a time to be thankful for the life we have. The presents we give and receive does something to the brain that triggers the feelgood hormone. Yes, the weather outside is colder, but the warmth we feel from the people we love during this time of year can make the colder weather feel delightful. It’s that time for families to get together on Christmas day and dress in matching Christmas pajamas then posting the best photos to Instagram. This is also the season of giving as people volunteer their time to help others in need. We donate more to charities during this time hoping it brings joy to someone in need of encouragement. Others take it a step further by adopting a family so that family can have presents to open on Christmas Day. Even the stingiest of the stingy open their wallets during this time of year. The holidays are so magical even enemies put their differences aside.

               This is what the holiday spirit is all about. Giving and receiving, spending time with family and friends, and peace and love to all. However, I wonder after the holidays are over and the decorations are taken down, are you still kind and generous during the other months of the year? Are you still helping others even though the Christmas music is not being played on the radio? Are you still forgiving those who needs forgiveness so you can be a better version of yourself? Are you donating your time to non-profits that help those in need? How about that family you adopted for Christmas, what have you done to make their lives better from January to November? Are you checking on family and friends when you have some free time? Most importantly, in a consumer society where you are important for helping businesses make profit for the work you perform and the money you spend, do you take time to care for yourself physically and mentally?