January always seems like an odd month to start a new year to me. Smack in the middle of winter, sliding right in after the holidays, January seems more like a time to lay low, huddle by the fireplace, and browse seed catalogues. My new year seems better suited to starting in the fall, when school goes back in session and the summer fades away. Putting away summer clothes, cleaning out the pantry, buying lots of school supplies (a real weakness of mine), and feeling the crisp newness of the fall air trigger that whole new-year-intention-setting thing for me. So when January rolls around and the airwaves are full of resolutions and expectations for change, it feels like a been there/done that mind set.

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