One of my most treasured Christmas traditions is my Christmas morning run. It is, by far, the most peaceful run of the year. There is virtually no traffic, there is often fresh snow on the ground and Christmas carols on the radio. Usually, though, I choose to run without my radio and just take in the silence and reflect on what Christmas means to me.

This morning -- being a Monday & Christmas Eve -- was like a bonus Christmas run because there was virtually no one on the roads. Probably most folks took today off. Good for them. Good for me.

This morning, I came upon a house on Shannon Road that I run by regularly that has two giant pine trees in their front yard strung with white lights. I'd seen them before, but never stopped to really admire them -- I was always in a hurry to get home, I guess.

Today, I stopped, I stared, I admired and I appreciated the effort it must've taken on the homeowners' part to string up those trees. I stood in the middle of the road (did I mention there was no traffic this AM?), snow falling gently around me and said a little prayer for the peace in my life -- and for those who don't know peace in their lives.