(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 20)

Well, it's the second Sunday in May.

And I'm sure we're all busy today so I won't take up much of your time.

I'll pretty much go straight to the usual Sunday Paper categories, but first allow me to say this: I can't believe it's already the second Sunday of May.

The weeks are flying by and you know what that means....

JUST A LITTLE MORE THAN A MONTH UNTIL FATHER'S DAY!!

Writing

*Got a few new stories assigned this week, so I have dedicated work next week, which is always good. But I had a better plan this week and got a little more organized with my approach to seeking work in the down times when I'm not swimming in assignments. Believe it or not, I'm still getting the hang of the freelance thing. I think it might be time for a post entirely dedicated to what I'm doing with writing, as I've done with comedy in the past. Maybe next week is the time for that.

Comedy

*I had a great set Tuesday night at Iron Furnace in Quincy, where I hadn't been in a very long time. Always good to perform there and that was a fun show with some good people on it. Thursday at the Stand Up Break In I did not have a great set. I let myself get distracted and it went downhill from there. Oh well. That show is so good though. I've sung their praises before - I can't stress enough that you should go there and support it. Also enjoyed hanging out with some of the people who were on that show - there are some pretty nice people in the comedy scene who I'm lucky to have met.

*I'm sure you can still get tickets to the Mother's Day show in Dedham this afternoon, if you're looking for a last-minute activity.

*Kind of a quiet week this week - I'll get out to an open mic or two or three, I hope - but next week is a big one - Comedy Studio on Thursday and I'll be hosting a show in Framingham on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Details are at the 'Comedy Shows' link above and let me know if you're local and want more details on the Framingham show. We can make that one a pretty good time.

What I've Been Enjoying

*I took a little time to reflect this week that I've been enjoying the heck out of coaching softball. (Again, some really great people involved here and it's nice to have gotten the chance to get to know some of them.) I was worried about the softball thing - I didn't know I'd have the time to dedicate to it, but there have only been a couple of conflicts and we're through them now. The interaction with the kids on the team is pretty much everything I've been missing about being in the classroom. The part I don't like is everything feels so rushed - we only have the field from a certain time until a certain time, and the games don't allow much time for teaching certain skills and there are different elements pulling the coaches in a bunch of different directions and it can be hard. Not to mention that a full season is crunched into not too many weeks. I worry I'm not doing a good enough job helping the girls learn the game. But the bottom line is it's a really nice way to spend a couple of hours every other day and the girls are great and the parents have been great and I hope everyone else is enjoying the season as much as I am.

Notes

*A Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I know so many (and am quite fond of a select few with whom I am lucky enough to spend most of this weekend) and I respect the heck out of all of you. (Despite my flip attitude at the top of this post. Truth be told, that's only because I didn't have anything else to write about this week.)

*My youngest daughter set up a 'hunt' for my wife for Mother's Day. I'm not sure if she has clues that lead from one card to the next, but she's been hiding these cards all week in plain sight around the house. Which I was laughing at until I realized that I do the same with gifts I give Kathy. It's kind of a fun experiment I conduct. Just leave them in places she doesn't usually give her attention. She's never found one on me yet.

*And with this Sunday comes the end of our craziest two weeks of May. The rest of the month is still busy, but nothing extraordinary - all the "extras" (I forgot to mention when I brought this up a couple of weeks ago that we also had our three parent-teacher conferences in the mix) have concluded this weekend. Now it's just balancing all the softball nights with all of our other regular busy-ness.

*Speaking of which, yesterday were the dance recitals. I will make a "Oh no, I have to attend dance recitals" joke at the drop of a hat, but here's the secret truth: They are really outstanding productions and I love them and I find watching them to be overwhelmingly emotional. Just don't tell anyone I said that, OK?

*As always, thanks for reading. Last week's post seemed to be a pretty popular one. Maybe because I posted on social media later in the day? I don't know. I sure would like to keep up that momentum, though.