This year’s spring break also happens to include Easter…in which, apparently, the only thing scarier than a person in an Easter Bunny costume is the costume in its packaging.

(Sunday Paper, Year IV, Issue 16)

It seems a little silly to say that I like spring break…as though saying I enjoy a week off is some kind of crazy revelation.

But seeing as how we’ve reached the end of another spring vacation week, I’ve been thinking about how much I like it, and why.

Part of me kind of enjoys that it’s different from what I grew up with: spring break in Massachusetts revolves around Patriots’ Day - the third Monday in April.

Growing up the spring vacation week was always the week of Easter.

But it’s really more than just the actual week on which the vacation falls.

Once in a while we’ve done something special over spring break - I wrote in the past about the Easter/spring break we spent in California. Last year I dropped the girls in New York and, with Kathy overseas, had some time to myself for comedy and writing work.

But more often than not we do nothing over spring break…which, and if you’ve been paying attention you probably know this about me, is just the way I like it.

This year, because the girls were home I had the flexibility to go to some shows even without dropping them in New York - I’ll tell you about that in the comedy section below.

There’s the Boston Marathon on Monday, which we did not go to this year because we let the inaccurate weather forecast trick us into thinking it wouldn’t be good to go out in. (But it was a nice relaxing day hanging at home.)

There’s the historical aspect - the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord and Paul Revere’s ride and all that. And the re-creations of those battles, which are also a fun time.

It’s just a very lazy week.

No serious obligations. (Just work, which was at my own pace and I got a lot done.)

It’s the last week before the crazy busy May filled with softball and dance recitals and running from one to the other.

I was never a crazy, let’s-go-wild-it’s-spring-break kind of guy. (Shocking, I know.)

But I am pretty crazy about spring break.

Writing

*Met my deadline on those special project articles last week - I spent most of Marathon Monday fine-tuning those. Then Kathy took the girls to work with her on Tuesday and I was able to squeeze in a lot of work that day and take care of the girls on Wednesday. Good balance of family and work this week with the girls home.

Comedy

*I also got out to some shows, which worked out well. I was going to do Monday-Tuesday for comedy, but got caught up in a project on Monday - I think it might have been yard work-related, more on that in a minute - and decided Tuesday-Wednesday would work better. It turned out well.

On Tuesday I got to The Comedy Studio open mic nice and early (check out this Boston Globe article about the open mic at The Comedy Studio!) in an effort not to go on too late, and I ended up hosting the show, which was a nice little surprise. (And the new jokes I wanted to try out worked pretty well, so that was also a bonus.)

On Wednesday I checked out a new show that’s been developing at The Square Root in Roslindale, and that was a REALLY good time. I’m looking forward to getting back there - check it out if you’re in the area.

*This week, it’s the North Carolina Comedy Festival. I’m looking forward to being involved in that again. I’ll be performing on Monday and Tuesday.

Running (or Things That Kevin Helped Me With This Week)

*This week I ran on Wednesday afternoon, when it was about 55 or so degrees - ideal running temperature for me. I was going to do something like 20 minutes than a quick walk and then another 20 or something, then I thought about the forecast the rest of the week and realized I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get out again. So I decided I’d push myself, which in this case meant 30 minutes, a quick 2 minute walk, then another 10. Which I think was pushing myself further than the last time with multiple breaks. And at the very least it was a mental challenge because I changed my thinking mid-way through the run, and I thought I handled that mental part well. (I kept thinking this is a baby run compared to the end goal.) I’m pleased to report the run was a good one.

I’ll write about this a little more too, but my body has been feeling good. I’ve given up on running in the recent past because of sore legs or achy ankles or some such malady. But it occurs to me how good I’m feeling because my legs hurt as I write this….because of stooping down doing yard work. Not the running. So that’s a good sign.

(Kevin didn’t help me with anything this week. He’s been busy with end-of-term stuff with school and I’ve made an effort not to bother him with trivial matters.)

*Update: I did actually text Kevin late Friday night (after I wrote the earlier part of this section) and we talked lawn mowers. Kevin, recently moving into a new home, bought a lawn mower for the first time, and I was about to buy a new lawn mower. Turns out I was considering buying the EXACT MOWER HE BOUGHT! So we jawed about that for a bit. Good times. Oh, how we laughed. He helped me because he didn’t talk me out of buying it.

Notes

*What yard work, you ask, after hearing my legs were sore? Well, I uprooted some bushes that never quite recovered from the bad winter a couple of years ago - was that 2015? I don’t know. I waited for those bushes to bounce back and they never did. And I have to say, I think the front of the house looks better without them. We’ll probably plant some flowers in their stead. And I might break out some mulch for the first time in my homeowning life. Then it was just continued clean-up in the yard.

*Guys. I kind of like doing yard work. I was so disappointed it was rainy on Saturday because I couldn’t get anything done. Hopefully it clears up today more than they’ve forecast.

*Facebook is here, Twitter is here. You know the story.

*It’s getting near crazy May…and you know what that means for the Sunday Paper…..it’s almost guest post season! I’m working on lining up some guest posts, looking forward to sharing them with you end of May/into June or thereabouts.

*Happy Easter, if that’s your thing. Hope you don’t run into anyone dressed like the Easter Bunny…or any packaged Easter Bunny costumes, for that matter.