Airport Goodbyes
We all love it when family and friends visit us. This is especially true when you live very far away from the ones you love. We make plans weeks in advance of where to take them, where to eat, and what to do, in the short span of time that they have. During this time, we take advantage of the time that we are together with them, for we know that our time with them is short.
Inevitably, the day comes when they have to go back home, and you have to bring them back to the airport.
From my experience, its not as hard to be the one leaving, simply because you have to put on a brave face when passing through security and making your way to the gate. The last hug and kiss happens just before you are shuffled into the security area. You are busy thinking about so many other things that your emotions are forced to take a back
seat. Exhaustion overwhelms, and before you know it, you fall asleep in your seat even before the plane has taken off.
Yes, the one who is left standing just outside the security area, watching the loved one pass through passport control and the x-ray is the one that bears the brunt of emotion. The hardest part is getting into your car and driving back home. Once you are away from the noise of the airport and hear silence, you realize that you are, once again, alone, and that you have no idea when you will see your loved ones again. That's when it hits you the hardest, and the tears start flowing.
If you have ever wondered why there are people in airport parking lots just sitting in their cars for a few minutes before leaving, now you know why.
Once you get home from the airport, it doesn't get better. You see the guest room, bedsheets and comforter unmade, the impression of the suitcase still on the carpet floor. The guest bathroom still smells of their deodorant and perfume.
Familiar to the senses yet fading fast away. In a day or two, the bed will be made, the rooms cleaned, and the house ready for the next visitor. We try as quick as possible to go back to our normal lives, in an effort to ease the pain of our loved ones gone.
Depending on how long travel time is, you hear from your loved ones either a few hours or a day after they have left. This is probably when reality sets in... when you are once again communicating via phone or Skype. Life, for both parties, is truly back to 'normal'...
The hope is there that one day we will see each other once again. And deep in our hearts, we know we will.
La Vita e Bella.
Inevitably, the day comes when they have to go back home, and you have to bring them back to the airport.
From my experience, its not as hard to be the one leaving, simply because you have to put on a brave face when passing through security and making your way to the gate. The last hug and kiss happens just before you are shuffled into the security area. You are busy thinking about so many other things that your emotions are forced to take a back
seat. Exhaustion overwhelms, and before you know it, you fall asleep in your seat even before the plane has taken off.
Yes, the one who is left standing just outside the security area, watching the loved one pass through passport control and the x-ray is the one that bears the brunt of emotion. The hardest part is getting into your car and driving back home. Once you are away from the noise of the airport and hear silence, you realize that you are, once again, alone, and that you have no idea when you will see your loved ones again. That's when it hits you the hardest, and the tears start flowing.
If you have ever wondered why there are people in airport parking lots just sitting in their cars for a few minutes before leaving, now you know why.
Once you get home from the airport, it doesn't get better. You see the guest room, bedsheets and comforter unmade, the impression of the suitcase still on the carpet floor. The guest bathroom still smells of their deodorant and perfume.
Familiar to the senses yet fading fast away. In a day or two, the bed will be made, the rooms cleaned, and the house ready for the next visitor. We try as quick as possible to go back to our normal lives, in an effort to ease the pain of our loved ones gone.
Depending on how long travel time is, you hear from your loved ones either a few hours or a day after they have left. This is probably when reality sets in... when you are once again communicating via phone or Skype. Life, for both parties, is truly back to 'normal'...
The hope is there that one day we will see each other once again. And deep in our hearts, we know we will.
La Vita e Bella.
posted by Vince @ 12:13 PM
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