Carrot Cake

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3/24/2024
10 : 4

Coaching Grade 1 Hoops

Winter basketball just ended for our team of first graders. Everyone on the team was brand new to the game except for the one kid who was way better and all the kids knew it. We were lucky to have a
3/17/2024
10 : 14

Lunch Money

I pulled my car into the pickup line to wait for Jake. As he buckled his seatbelt, I scanned the rearview mirror and saw fresh pink circles around his eyes. Someone had stolen his lunch money at camp.
3/10/2024
12 : 14

Secret Weapon, Bathroom Plunger

No one is harder to coach than six year olds that are brand new to baseball. We're fighting decreased signups across the US, so if you care about Little League, we need to be mindful of how we
3/3/2024
16 : 24

I'm not your friend

I was eavesdropping on a couple of Dads at work and I heard this line that stuck. “So I says to 'im, Listen buddy, I'm NOT ya friend, I'm ya Fatha. Dad 1 was delighted with himself, as if
11/13/2023
17 : 24

Thanks, Coach.

At 4:40p on Tuesdays I make the risky right hand turn onto Murphy Memorial Drive. The turn is risky because The Murph is narrow at the mouth and you come in too hot after exiting the Sea Street
10/2/2023
15 : 4

The Importance of Having a Line Ready

Chris and Billy were meeting up for a workout behind one of the local elementary schools. The town of Bolton had just renovated the field and put in enough turf to cover a city block. Most mornings
7/16/2023
14 : 14

Who's The Fatty

Jake and I were in the 9th inning of a lovely afternoon. A relaxed July evening that mixed full sunshine, the ocean, and people in good spirits. An affirming feeling washed over me; maybe I can do this
6/27/2023
13 : 14

Coach Pitch

Spring 2023 My little league coaching career began with an email and an idea from a friend. Ashley wanted to know if we could try and get Jake (my son) and her son on the same team. Together we figured
4/19/2023
13 : 14

The Morning War

[A tired dad standing in a dark kitchen squinting against the interior fridge light.] “Fuck. I thought I had more bread and more than one slice of cheese left.” He shrugs his shoulders to no one and
12/29/2022
17 : 4

The End of Year Post (2022)

I haven't published anything in a dogs age, but the pencil still scratches across the page most days. Ninety percent of the scratchings are of the soul dredging kind. This time of year feels
10/17/2022
14 : 54

The Closing Shift

another one from the parenting series ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
10/4/2022
9 : 44

A little daylight

The last time you heard from me was September 6th. I've since turned 39 years old and watched the end of summer slip through my fingers. We've got new school routines; the heavy gears of life
9/6/2022
16 : 24

Jake Tom

If I were to die at any point in the next batch of years, I want to leave behind some writing about my son, Jake Thomas Sullivan. The piece that I wrote about his twin brother, Keegan, has more than
8/18/2022
15 : 34

The paths we choose

A favorite organization of mine, Reboot has a wonderful newsletter that you can subscribe to here: https://www.reboot.io/ I've written at length about their offerings in old issues of Carrot Cake (
7/22/2022
14 : 4

Checker's Pizza

My cousin Mitch is a couple years older than me. Being the older cousin, he got his driver's license and a various run of beautiful shitboxes a few years before I did. A maroon Dodge Dynasty, a
7/14/2022
15 : 44

Bushwhacking

It's been 14 weeks since I got fired. If you missed the piece that I wrote about it, it's here: Reflections on getting sacked: I spent five quarters at my last gig. Nine months as a quota
6/21/2022
14 : 34

Finding Help for ASD Babies

Part 2 of the autism parenting series ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
6/17/2022
2 : 19

Fear and Aging in Tuckerman's Ravine

Note from Tom* There are a lot of new people here since the last time I hit the publish button. The piece about Keegan got ten times as many views as anything else I've ever written. It's been
5/31/2022
15 : 54

Keegan Joe

It turns out that April is Autism awareness month. I found out via pop up banner on an appliance dealer's website. I never know about these special months or days because we live with autism
5/16/2022
15 : 44

The Spanish Gentleman

I snapped this photo last week and I've been thinking about it ever since. I'm not a car guy, but google tells me that this beauty is from the mid to late 80s. The rare coupè utility vehicle.