Weekend Wrap — June 28, 2026

Each weekend, I like to pause, reflect, and look back on the past week. This isn't meant to be a deep dive or sweeping life philosophy—just a collection of things that caught my attention, made me think, brought me joy, or stayed with me in some way.

What I Noticed

I write to you from London. 

I know it isn’t really the most impressive or amazing thing in the world, but being here is a pretty big deal for me. I’ve never been much of a traveler. In the past, my anxiety made it very stressful to even consider. Doing it? Yeah… no freaking way. 

But my anxiety has become a mere whisper. Maybe even a whisper of a whisper. There are reasons for this. And they aren’t the ones most people would expect. 

I’m working on something about this, about why my anxiety is now so quiet. I hope it will be helpful for others. 

It has been eye-opening, and even a little mind-blowing and life-changing (was that enough compound terms for you?) for me to be here, around so many people, in a totally different place, and feel, well, totally cool with that. The lack of anxiety I feel is shocking to me. 

The fact that I was the one who planned and made this entire trip happen is just the cherry. Sort of incredible to see the change in me, and I think I know why. Stay tuned. 

What Helped

You can’t control how other people behave. You can’t control everything that happens to you. What you can control is how you respond to it all. In your response is your power… -Angel Chernoff, 10 Mindful Ways to Remain Calm When Others Are Out of Control

Thursday night, we sat in the Minneapolis airport. It was about 11:00 pm, our flight was supposed to be leaving soon. But it was delayed. 

Our pilot was sick. They were trying to find a new one. I heard someone complain about how he should just come and fly even if he didn’t feel well. This man clearly hasn’t watched the 80s classic Airplane recently. No sick pilots, my friend. 

About 11:15, they announced it was cancelled and rescheduled to Friday at 6 pm. 

People lost it. Not all. Not even that many. But more than I would have expected. 

Completely out of our control. 

Within minutes, Delta has sent me a text with a link to get a free hotel stay, as well as some food credits. We went to a hotel, got a solid night of sleep, bummed around the Mall of America the next day, and went back Friday afternoon. Our flight went great. 

Yes, we got here a day late. We hadn’t made any time-sensitive plans for that first night anyway, knowing we would be beat. It worked out great. No big deal. 

But there were people Friday night who were still angry. 

I get it. It was inconvenient (particularly for some people who were “local” but didn’t have a place to crash). But we can’t ever control that. In the moment, it can be so difficult to remain calm, to have that view of the big picture. 

It was a good reminder: we can’t control our situations, only our response. 

What I’m Enjoying

Junius came on my radar in 2017, with their album Eternal Rituals for the Accretion of Light. Yep, that is the title of the album. The best way I can describe Junius is what if Depeche Mode was a post-metal band? 

It would be awesome. 

Because it is. Sotera is the first album from these Bostonians (represent!) since 2017. It is great. Gothic, post-metal goodness oozing with atmosphere and an almost Devin Townsend-like wall of sound approach. 

It was some might fine plane music. 

What I’m Practicing

Being present. 

This trip is all about that. Enjoying being here. It is the biggest trip I’ve ever done, honestly. Both in time away and distance. 

I am enjoying the sights, the sounds, being here with my wife, and checking out all the history London has to offer. Tomorrow, we even head out to Stonehenge. 

Yes, I am being that tourist. And loving it. Life is too short to get caught up in our own headspace about worry about things like that. 

Be in the moment. It’s probably worth it. And if it isn’t maybe we can make it that way. 

Wrapping Up

Given I am away for another week and a half, I anticipate just a couple of Weekend Wraps while I am away. But I am working on a few things. Trying to really understand them before I send them out. 

Until then, enjoy the world around you. Wherever it is. Because there is good: things, people, places, around us all the time.