Magnificent May

May is my second (or is it third?) favorite month of the year. Maybe it's the first, but only in the spring, like October is my first in the fall and December is my first in the winter.

I love living in the Northeast. :)

Anyway, there are always lots of good things happening in May:

1. TV Sweeps and Upfronts

Even though things are a little anticlimactic this year, with the strike and resultant huge gaps in quality new television, I love when all my favorite shows turn up the heat and let the plots boil. This year we anticipate Dean's possible descent to Hell, the Oceanic Six's departure from the island, a Scrubs fairy tale, and who knows what Numb3rs has that might top Colby's shocking triple agentry?

At the Upfronts, the networks present their fall shows to the advertisers. I've only been paying attention to these for the last two or three years. This year, two of my favorite shows got early pickups, and that's nice (more for them than for me). But there's something exciting about seeing which other shows got renewed, and hearing about all the new stuff that has great potential.

2. Mother's Day

Possibly my favorite day of the year. My birthday comes close, but there's usually so much going on, being two days before Christmas and all, that relaxation isn't always at the level I want it to be.

This year, I want to do nothing. They don't have to make breakfast for me, because I don't want to schedule ANYTHING, including what time I get out of bed. I don't want to go anywhere, including dinner out, and I don't want to work, and I don't want any demands on me by child or animal. Since it means very little work for them, except the routine chores of feeding the animals and maybe doing the dishes, it's a pretty good deal for all of us.

3. The Retreat

This will be Central Pennsylvania's Fifth Annual All About Me Writing Retreat. We have a really sweet deal at Rhodes Grove, a Christian camp and convention center. They have a hotel-like facility (but no phones or TVs, though they do now have wireless Internet) and provide all meals plus the rooms for one low price. We don't have to clean or cook or anything. All we have to do is write. We have brainstorming or critique sessions if we wish, and hand out tickets for accomplishments that can be used to at the end of the weekend to win a prize pack. We have welcome kits full of cool things, and Saturday night we take a break and play a game.

We all love the retreat so much that last year we expanded it from Friday to Thursday. Last year was also the year I got an offer for representation from my fantastic agent, Nephele Tempest, while I was at the retreat. While I'd have preferred not to wait a year for a sale, it would be quite poetic to have it happen next week, while I'm with my friends who shared my good fortune last year.

What? The retreat is called "All About Me," after all. :)

There are a bunch of little things that happen in May, too. Concerts and pictures and soccer tournaments and the return of Movies Worth Seeing in the Theater. Not to mention lovely weather, which we've had all this week so far. Sunshine and temperatures that start at 47 and rise to 82 before dropping back to the 40s. Spring rains that bring peace instead of drear. Greens and sweet smells and clarity in the air.

Ahhhhh, May. My favorite month. :)