I say I don’t take astrology too seriously, but then I get way too excited for Nov. 22nd, the first day of Sagittarius season. Who can blame me? A few days into Sagittarius season is Thanksgiving, a glorious feast (and more than likely a front row seat to some family drama – I’m no instigator, but sometimes you just can’t look away from the show.) Then it’s time for the Christmas lights and sparkles to go up. The suburbs and small towns around me light up their trees, hang their wreaths from the lamp posts and erupt in color and happiness.

As a joke I’ve been sharing memes on my Instagram stories from astrology accounts all about Sagittarians and their particular brand of chaotic energy. It turns out my personality is pretty on par for what Sagittarians are like.

Childlike? Yes – I don’t know many boring, overly mature people who would put up a bubblegum pink Christmas tree that makes eight-year-old Barbie-obsessed them happy. I’m also obsessed with Animal Crossing, but I don’t know if that’s childlike or stress relief. It’s not like Real Life Me is going to be owning a paid-off house with a substantial vegetable garden on a tropical island in this economy, but I’m digressing.

Fun? I try, although I feel like my definition of fun including running in miserable conditions and then eating my body weight in raw cookie dough might not be the majority’s definition of fun. I’m also very aware I’m not supposed to eat food containing raw eggs, but considering I’ve been doing this since forever and I’m not dead yet, I kinda think that concern is overrated.

Impulsive? Ooh boy, this one gets me in trouble, but I like to think some of the impulsiveness ultimately serves a good purpose. To give you an example from this past year, Pelotonia was the impulse register. I’d never ridden that far before or committed to riding that regularly as part of the training. I was also committed to my fundraising amount, which had I not accomplished by October 1st, meant I would have been on the hook to come up with the money. Not too long after I registered and told Mom the details, I got an early morning weekend phone call. The short ‘n sweet is that I think I might have legitimately frightened my mother and given her an ulcer.

But then I met my fundraising goal before ride weekend, and my training paid off since I finished my ride within the time goal I set for myself. That’s another trait of the Sagittarius – having dumb luck on our side. This genuinely astonishes family members, coworkers and former significant others.

My energy is shifting and I’m feeling livelier. I’m daydreaming and planning ahead for spring racing, looking at my calendar for both my training and trying to figure out how I can time travel races to not conflict with local ones (and planning the budget.) I’m also making a list of community events I want to get involved in. After years of pulling the “Wouldn’t it be nice?” card with myself, I’m finally going to jump head first going into Chapter 31. It took me a while to get back to my chaotic daydreamer self, but I’m back and I’m feeling reinvigorated about what’s to come.

And candidly, I’m using Sagittarius season this year to make up for last Sagittarius season being one of stress and ultimately sorrow.

I expect Christmas this year is going to be hard, since it’s the first one without Grandpa. The three of us got through Thanksgiving alright, but the feelings that come with grief are starting to rise to the surface. My grandmother is definitely aware this year is going to be different. The other day Mom mentioned that she felt a pit in her stomach when she was decorating the house for Christmas, thinking back to this time last year. I’ve noticed I’ve been a little trigger-happy with my emotions and responses to minor irritations at my home, so I’ve been busying myself with wrapping Christmas presents and checking on the sleeping Marina. As well as slowly cleaning my place.

So for the next few weeks, I’m going to channel that inner Sagittarius happy-go-lucky energy to bring some joy back and keep the momentum going. With God and the planet Jupiter on my side, who’s going to stop me?

I hope you all are having a restful Sunday and have a wonderful week ahead.

Yours in running and life,

Allison