Airport Hello's and Goodbye's

Yesterday I dropped friends off at the airport. As I slowly pulled my car away from the curb, I noticed a young man who had just unloaded his luggage reaching out to hug an older man.  They had amazingly similar facial features- father and son? The older man was rigid yet reluctantly accepted the embrace. Within a half-second he squeezed his eyes shut and returned the hug with masculine intentionality and sensitivity.  

Questions about these men began to swirl and dance through my mind.  

Where did the supposed father live? 

How long was his visit?  

How long had it been since they had seen each other?  

Did they have a strong relationship when the son was younger or did they get close after the son left home?  

Was the dad sick?  

Was the visit for pleasure or was it a family funeral?  

Did they finally have the difficult conversation they avoided for years?  

Or were their hearts so deeply connected that they considered each other best friends?  

Recently, I was waiting in an airport terminal for my friend's plane to land.  She was riding stand-by so she would be one of the last people to come through the gate.  I tucked myself in a corner chair to wait and decided to watch the stories unfold around me.

Some people waited quietly, thumbing through magazines or newspapers, checking the time on their watches or cell phones every couple minutes.  Others paced anxiously, pretending to study the the art, advertisements, or area activities littering the terminal walls.   They looked but weren't really seeing.  Their eyes were glazed and dazed as seconds rolled into minutes.

Passengers began to come through security and all the anxious waiters huddled the entrance, craning their necks in anticipation for their special someone. Hugs were given en masse, excited voices suddenly filled the terminal, and the once important newspapers were forgotten on the airport seats.

A camo-clad soldier, standing strong and tall, was nearly drowned in a sea of hugs and adoration.  Apparently he was much stronger, more handsome, had lost weight, and was terribly missed by his entire family. The handsome soldier was a blushing kid once again, smiling and chuckling in his mother's enthusiastic embrace.  

Her love was palatable.  I smiled and chuckled to myself at his embarrassment, pretending to not watch too closely as I absently thumbed through someone's forgotten newspaper.

Family homes and backyard trees share countless tales.  Dinner stories and romance.  Family laughter and afternoon naps.  Holidays and whispered secrets.  This is the stuff of award-winning songs.  But more fascinating and powerful would be airport stories.  

Short.  

Concise.  

Heady.  

Brimming with emotion.  

Heavy joy blanketing the arrival gates.  Anticipation, adrenaline, and excitement of finding the sought.   Families reunited.  Life-long friends longing for fun.  Internet lovers meeting face-to-face for the first time.   Emotions that are powerful and intoxicating.

Of course, there's a yin to every yang;  the departure gate.  Where sorrow and loss linger with exhaustion blanketing the shoulders of business travelers.  I've shed countless tears when saying goodbye to my brother as he departs after his annual holiday visit and have fought blurry eyes every time my husband dropped me off for business flights.  I guess I'm overly-sentimental.  

But I understand that my time spent with someone could be the last time. 

 Life is so unpredictable.  

And short.   Airports bring this reality to life with every goodbye.

I'm not the only one grieving at departure gates. Families linger with loved ones until the last moment, making up awkward conversations or jokes then squeezing in another goodbye and hug before the doors close.  Husbands steal one last kiss from their wives.  Kids squeeze their daddy's neck one last time.  Friends snap one last picture and promise to keep in touch.

Airports are seas of commerce, loaded with schools of travelers and wares peddlers alike.  Usually sterile and boring.  A place where souvenirs, forgotten necessities, and meals gouge the pocketbooks of reluctant yet desperate travelers.  A place where anticipation of the coming flight or memories of the past flight linger at the forefront of one's mind.  A hospital room of emotion, where sorrow and loss collide with anticipation and excitement.  

Why airports fascinate me, I may never know.  Maybe I just love studying people and can't help but wonder if the feelings, thoughts and emotions of the bustling sojourners mirror my own. 

--- Resources you may enjoy:
*How to Give a Man Hug (this is hilarious!) from WikiHow.com
*A Fantastic and hilarious blog on manliness - 'The Art of Manliness'
*'Healthy Grieving'- article from University of Washington
*'Grief: Finding Hope in the Darkness' - article by Paul David Tripp


Question: What emotions have you experienced in an airport?  Excitement, joy, stress, loss, or...?