Until I get a proper do-over for this week, I am choosing to celebrate one thing that has kept me steady: early morning running. There is something about getting outside before the day fully begins that makes everything feel a little more manageable. The air is quiet, the roads are calm, and for a short while, the constant noise of the world fades into the background. This week has been rough in every possible way, from the stressful news cycle surrounding the President and immigration to the exhausting reality of flu and stomach virus symptoms spreading through Kindergarten. By the time Friday arrived, all I wanted to do was pull the covers over my head and hide until the weekend felt safe again.
I absolutely love these shoes. The Saucony Freedom ISO has quickly become one of those pairs I reach for without thinking. When a week feels chaotic, a comfortable running shoe can make a surprisingly big difference. A good run does not fix everything, but it can reset my mood, clear my head, and give me enough energy to face the rest of the day. Early morning miles have become my small act of control in a week that has felt anything but controlled.
Now I am more than ready to dive into the weekend. Today has been a blur, and I am grateful to be moving toward a little breathing room. On top of everything else, I heard about what Lionsgate Films has been considering for the final part of the Divergent story, and I am not impressed. We need the end of the book handled properly, not pushed into something that feels unfinished or watered down. After following a story that long, readers and movie fans deserve closure that actually feels like closure. I know it is just entertainment, but sometimes entertainment is exactly what gets us through stressful weeks.
After dealing with progress reports and parent concerns, my brain was completely tired. Teaching during a week full of sickness, uncertainty, and emotional conversations can drain every bit of patience you have. It is not that the work is not meaningful, because it absolutely is. It is just that some weeks ask for more than you feel capable of giving. By the end of the day, I was ready for a quiet evening, a good show, and the kind of distraction that does not require me to solve anyone else’s problem.
Oh, and did you see that Scandal episode last night?
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That show is officially messed up beyond all recognition. MUBAR feels like the polite, family-friendly version of what I really want to say. Every time I think the writers have taken the drama as far as it can go, they somehow find another way to twist the story and leave me staring at the screen.
I almost turned it off. The episode felt strange from the beginning, and I knew something was not right. There was no way Olivia would suddenly be that gentle and agreeable with him, and the Oval Office décor felt completely off. It had dream sequence written all over it, but even knowing that did not make it any less uncomfortable to watch. For a few minutes, I wondered if I even wanted to keep going.
Then Cyrus woke up, called Olivia, and suddenly we had the real Olivia back. That moment gave me a brief flashback to the days when everything felt complicated mainly because of Olivia and Fitz. Those were the good old Scandal days, when the tension was dramatic, messy, and emotional in the best possible way. After that scene, though, I got grumpy again and considered turning on Divergent for what would probably be the 546 millionth time.
But here is the rule: never turn off Scandal too early. The last 45 seconds of that episode could have carried an entire show by itself. Truly, those final moments did more than some full episodes manage to do. Forty-five seconds packed into forty-five minutes, and suddenly everything felt sharper, crazier, and impossible to ignore.
Come on, Shonda-landa-ding-dong. Bring back the Olivia and Fitz angst. I am not loving the new direction right now, and I need some of those old dramatic, feel-good feelings again. I need Mellie doing ridiculous things and creating second-hand embarrassment. I need Fitz back in the Oval Office for another four years, even if only in my TV-loving imagination. You know what I need to hear right now.
So that is where I am: tired, slightly cranky, fully caught up in television drama, and deeply grateful for early morning running. Some weeks are heavy, and this one definitely counts. Still, a good pair of running shoes, a few quiet miles, and the promise of the weekend can make the whole thing feel a little lighter. Onward to the weekend.