Before Christmas, I went to go pick my brother up from the airport; and after the holidays we, of course, took him back again for his trip home to Colorado. The long drive is a good chance to get caught up, but to be perfectly honest, I don't look forward to it – I don't like the airport, and I don't like going inside. I just can't be there for very long.
It's not that I don't love traveling or flying. I very much so do, and when I drop the family off, sometimes I even wish I were the one going instead. I love going all sorts of different places, and once I'm off the ground it only gets better, but you have to get there first, and that involves an entire trip through the airport.
You see people saying goodbye, and people saying hello. Some people are nervous, and some couldn't care less, everyone's in a hurry and hardly anyone ever looks up from a phone. I don't know what it is about that place more than any other, but I feel surrounded by far too many emotions to enjoy the experience. Sure, there are many places in life that are crowded, but that's it; however, the airport is more complicated.
Everyone has some reason to be there, and not just a simple one, either. It's not like running into someone at the grocery store and you know everyone has to go and buy food at some point. Traveling usually has more of a story behind it. Are people coming or are they going? Are they happy to be back, or sad to leave? There are so many different stories that I'm amazed everyone can be calm! Sometimes you can even read some of those stories on people's faces when they react to other passengers, or the ones they leave behind.
The holidays are often a time when people both come and go, so I'm sure many others have experienced this in the past month at varying degrees. It's something so simple, but it always opens my eyes to remind me of how complicated everyone's story is. And sure – sometimes people travel without much excitement, sometimes it becomes mundane. But there's always still a backstory, and people being left back on the ground. So while I find it challenging to look around and see so many different emotions, stories, and reactions without feeling overwhelmed, I do appreciate the reminder occasionally. There are a lot of small details that lead us to exactly where we are; and the same is true for everyone else in their life story, too.
