Airport Love and Smiles

It’s fun and heartwarming to watch the Arrival section in an airport.

I went to pick up my wife and arrived 30 minutes early. I didn’t want to face the possibility of her arriving early, not seeing me, and giving me two earfuls about how I didn’t care for her. So I got to people-watch for a bit.

There’s a happy buzz around the section: people waiting for their loved ones, holding gifts and flowers, children running around waiting for their grandparents, parents waiting for their children, drivers with placards waiting for their boss, travel agents waiting for their customers, some shifting places every few minutes, some standing fixed in a spot, not moving, everyone showing their emotion in some form or the other, some stoic, some nervous energy, some unbounded happiness, some edgy, some pacing, but mostly everyone smiling and relaxed.

And the moment they meet their one, the edgy gets into action, picking up luggage from the passenger, the pacing becomes hugs, the smiles become laughter, some talk for a long time in the spot they meet—with the barrier in between them—forgetting that they can talk freely just 20 steps later, children dissolve into their arriving grandparents, and some have that awkward moment where they’re not sure what to do. Riveting.

If every interaction in the world were like this, imagine what a wonderful place it would be.