The Airport

When I was a little girl, my grandmother took me to the airport all the time to watch the planes take off. It was cheap fun. In those days, you could walk right up to the terminal and see the runway. I remember squealing with delight as I saw the impossibly huge metal birds lift into the air. The airport was a magical. As I grew older I was intrigued by all the places you could go and everyone’s story that walked through the halls. To me, the airport was the gateway to many worlds. Walk through one door and you could be at the pyramids in Egypt, walk through another and you could end up at the Grand Canyon or Grandma’s house. Your options were limitless at the airport. However what I found most fascinating at the airport were the people. I loved to watch the people almost as much as I liked watching the planes take off. They were intriguing and being at the airport provided a brief snapshot into their lives. Everyone at the airport has a story. The Airport is actually the petri dish of all the great emotions in life. There are people arriving to celebrate the birth of a baby, weddings, and new jobs. There are also plenty of lovers full of amore, and children lost in fun or screaming in protest, and still others are saying good-bye. All of life’s soap operas are played out at the airport. This is what I was thinking about as I dropped my husband Scott off at Dulles International Airport for his vacation to London. Scott kissed me and the kids’ goodbye and suddenly it occurred to me that we were becoming part of the many stories that take place at the Airport. Maybe some voyeur was taking us in the same way that we had watched them in the past. Sometimes you are the ones watching the action and sometimes you are the action. That is what makes life so interesting. At this moment I was filled by the aching in my heart. I was filled with amore. Our story is one of love. He is my Romeo. For us, the airport is a reminder that we all have the “...potential to live any life we want."