Instead of making a New Year’s resolution for 2020, I assembled a “vision” board instead.
It proved to be a much better way to affect positive change than resolutions, which never lasted a month, much less an entire year.
Ideally, pictures from magazines are used to “visually” represent an activity or feeling one wants to focus on, but I made a list.
Among the items I wrote on my board was to complete five podcasts, to listen to or read 20 books and to volunteer somewhere in 2020.
With a list of items, I can choose to complete all of them in one month or stretch them over an entire year. Instead of instant failure after a month, the board often meant multiple successes throughout the year.
Fulfilling the volunteering occurred later in the year than I originally planned.
Rock Ranch in Hills welcomes adult volunteers to assist with its various equine programs. I never seemed to be able to dedicate time to this worthwhile program until this fall.
Because the new indoor arena allowed Marie LaRock to offer a fall option for the first time without weather worries, she was in need of a few more helping hands.
So I mapped off one day a week to help first-time riders.
Fall turned out to be a perfect time to volunteer, and I helped out over the course of six weeks.
It feels great to complete a goal while sharing a life-long hobby of horseback riding with others. Unfortunately, so many items on my vision board went unfulfilled or morphed into other activities entirely.
I envisioned 20 date nights with my hubby and hoped to visit more local restaurants and enjoy motorcycle rides to unique destinations.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing, the 20 date nights became 20 nights of sitting at home watching television.
I also wanted to do 20 bike rides around the Luverne Loop.
Due to working from home several days a week, those 20 bike rides became 20 additional horseback rides.
All the riding meant that the family gelding named Charlie was saddled up more in the past year than he had been in the previous three years combined.
He’s happier and in many ways I am, too.
Saturday, with temperatures hovering around freezing, I joined six other riders with Rock Ranch to make an appearance at Tuff Home in Hills.
Many of the residents there are familiar with the horses through the Senior Saddles program, which was also put on hold due to the pandemic.
Residents weren’t able to complete their annual visit to Rock Ranch, so Rock Ranch came to them.
I dressed as one of six elves and joined Mrs. Claus as seven of the horses “visited” with residents and staff at the nursing home and assisted living apartments.
Residents waved and I enjoyed the smiles the horses evoked from everyone. I was smiling, too.
I am definitely looking forward to making more “resolutions” for 2021, especially those that morph into something special.