Black Friday Trail Run in Huddart Park

Happy Thanksgiving, sorry it's late, but I still wanted to get it out there. It has become my favorite holiday, mostly because I'm lazy, I don't like shopping, and I don't like to mix religion and fun. I do, however, like to eat, and spend time with my family.

Last week we loaded the kids into the jeep and armed with 4 DVDs, we headed up the coast to Los Altos to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

On Black Friday I decided to head to Wal-Mart, pepper spray and bile in tow, and saved $5 on a giant flat screen TV where I can now watch C-SPAN in super high def 1090p (you haven't lived unless you've seen every detail of Waxman's 'stache in high def).

Not really. We drove up to see some redwoods at Huddart Park. The kids took off with Grandma in hopes of earning a quarter for every banana slug they saw, and I proceeded to get lost among the giant trees and narrow pine-covered trails of the park.

It was a beautiful 10 mile run, surrounded by the sound of falling water, heavy drops falling from the canopy above. Once I got away from the main parking lot, I only saw one other person, and one big deer who stared at me, blocking the sun. It had a nice rack.

I stood in a circle of trees and stared up, taking in the energy of this place. A few years ago, I sat in the audience as my mom gave a talk about building a successful business and she referenced these trees. She talked about how Sequoias are some of the oldest and tallest living things and shared the strategies and adaptations that led to their growth and persistence; the fact that their roots only go down about ten feet, spreading wide rather than deep and connecting to surrounding trees for strength, and how they grow in family circles, nourishing and supporting each other. And as I stood there, the day after Thanksgiving, I was grateful for my own small family circle, and for the fact that my roots have spread beyond my family to friends, people I run with, and to people who I have never met face to face, but I feel connected to, and I am grateful for all of these connections that support, strengthen and sustain.