Airports-the hustle bustle, the drill sergeant police officers poaching your car and threatening to give tickets, the crazy taxi drivers weaving in and out of the lanes, enough said right? Airports can often be a hectic scene. As I am sitting here on the plane of a now further delayed flight, I am entitled to a sense of agitation, to a slight annoyance as I have been patiently waiting here for close to 2 hours for a flight that should only take a small fraction of the day to complete.
Yet despite the frustration, there is something magical about airports. Ever witnesses the embraces? The warm kisses or the longing looks at the departure terminal? Ever watch the young children jumping on their loved ones at the arrival terminal? What about the sweet guys who bring flowers to their significant others at the airport? The laughter and the jubilation of seeing someone that you love at the airport is often priceless.
Today as my parents dropped me off at the airport for my weeklong trip to Alaska and my visit to San Francisco, they each gave me kisses, something that we as a family don’t do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. In fact, it seems as the only time they ever really give me those types of embraces or kisses if I’m leaving on a trip or going somewhere for a while.
When I got to the gate, two parents were accompanying their child who would be an unaccompanied minor on my plane. As they gave him hugs and kisses, no doubt they were thinking about how much they love their son and how much they will miss him even if he’s only going to grandma’s house (Turns out that our flight was delayed for more than 2 hours and they let us off the plane to go back to the terminal. The loving parents stayed at the airport the whole time for their son and probably didn’t leave until we took off).
I remember when I was a tween in the early 90’s, my then favorite aunt from Venezuela had been visiting for months with my cousins and it was time for them to go back to South America. Back then, we were allowed to see the passenger to the gate and there all of us little ones went hugging and kissing and saying goodbye to our aunt and cousins. At the airport, it seems appropriate to show unabashed emotions that you may not show anywhere else. Perhaps that is why despite the frustration of delays, the long flights, and the jet lag, there is something special about the emotions that can only be conveyed at the airport: genuine love.
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