I am currently sitting in my second airport of the day, one more to go. Due to flight changes, I am sitting longer than originally planned, but I am thankful to get out and get to my family so I won’t complain. Instead, I will grab some food and a drink and watch people and write stories about their lives in my head.
I saw a couple get really upset on my first flight because the overhead storage bins were full, even though the flight attendant warned that the flight was full, and told people they may consider checking their bags. A lady trying to read so she cracked the window only to have the girl a seat ahead slam it shut like it was all about her. I saw a gentleman help an elderly lady who couldn’t lift her bags up. In the airport, I watched a young in love couple having the best breakfast and talking, and a couple cuddling their baby. I saw a ton of military, people who looked like they were in their pj’s, who probably had not been out of bed long, and women in heels whom clearly couldn’t walk in them.
Are you anything like me where you sit and make up stories about people? That’s the most fun part. I saw a chauffeur dressed so neat. I saw an insecure lady trying to walk in heels and she couldn’t, all the while she was watching all the other women. I saw people that I questioned, purely judging by their looks, how they afforded the expensive bags they were carrying. I saw a Jewish Rabbi and a man who I thought looked like a preacher. Are any of these scenarios true? Possibly, but I made them up purely by observing.
I love what you see in airports, but what I used to love the most were the smiles I would receive at the airport. Today I can’t see any because of masks. There’s hustle and bustle like pre Covid and people in a hurry to get somewhere. I wonder where are they going? Some look like vacation, some traveling for business, some could be traveling to family events they wish they weren’t, some for weddings and births of babies.
I have no idea anybody’s story, or where they are going, but here’s what I can say though. We are all the same! No matter where we’re from, or where we’re going, we’re all the same. I saw insecure people watching other people. I saw secure people who you could tell in their eyes were smiling and were excited about where they were going. Some looked tired and some even sick. Here’s the thing though, at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to get somewhere! At the end of the day, we all have the same insecurities and fears. So no matter what I saw today, or what I made up, humans are the same everywhere. As you journey on this thing called life, slow down, enjoy the journey, show kindness and smile at strangers! Because guess what? We’re all alike, no matter our story! We all need each other no matter our differences. And everybody really is just trying to get somewhere in life.
With love for you all,
Shauna
Shauna's Sisters 