By now we’ve all become acquainted with 2013 and its possibilities. (Despite the fact we’re a week in, though, I’m still creatively converting twos to threes when I write the date.)

To me January feels a bit like a brand new barn coat, fitting snug and warm and not yet completely coated with hay dust and smeared with horse snot (and banned to the stable-only rack by the door). Decisions to eat healthy remain mostly intact. Winter is relatively fresh and I’m not muttering at it or about it yet. Daylight hours are building. Organizational projects at home are well under way.

All that said, I didn’t set any resolutions this year.

Ever since I resolved twice to learn to do a flip turn in the swimming pool and felt the ridiculous shame of never actually mastering it, resolutions have lost their sparkle a bit. I have found I haven’t taken them as seriously. But this doesn’t keep me from identifying things I want to pursue intentionally during the year. From places I hope to see and things I hope to write, to horses I hope to ride (Gandalf) and centuries (100-mile rides on my bike) I hope to complete, there’s a lot of hope for 2013, and that’s enough for me to focus on without setting a resolution list.

Speaking of intentionality, yesterday I received a letter from a faithful reader in Canada who is very purposeful about caring for her horses. In her own words, she “pays attention to every little detail of my horses’ lives.” She asked about some of their daily/hourly outer signs of health. She knows these horses better than anyone and wants the very best for them.

Som