I'm sitting in the airport terminal with my husband and three kids, all of whom are anxiously awaiting our Disney vacation. We've only had this adventure scheduled for eight months and have been counting down with my phone app. Don't think we weren't happy when we hit single digits.
Since it's just now 6:00 AM, and we have been waiting since 5:30 AM, I've had a chance to settle in and people watch, which I never get to do in my busy day-to-day life. As the holidays approach, I can't help but wonder the destination of each person.
I'm the kind of person who has the Horton Hears a Who outlook of everything eats flowers and poops butterflies. Call it naïve,, but I call it my little piece of Heaven-on-Earth in this gosh forsaken world of crazies and tragedies. I'm sure it will probably get me in trouble one of these days, but of course I'll never see it that way because that kind of thing always happens to other people.
We caught the shuttle from our hotel to the airport and besides my sleepy family of five there was only one other person on it. She looked preoccupied, almost sad, but I couldn't tell if maybe it was just because we were catching the shuttle at 4:45 AM. But it did get me to thinking about all of the people who may not be looking forward to the holidays like my family and I am. I wanted so much to ask this lady where she was headed, but I didn't. Partly because it really wasn't any of my business (which usually never stops me) and partly because my family would have started the eye-rolling early. I could already hear my kids, "There goes mom, already being overly friendly on the shuttle. And it's not even 5:00 AM!"
So I let my mind create the scenario.
Scenario #1: This poor lady is just tired. I saw her check in at the hotel right before us at 1:00 this morning. And now we are headed to the airport at 4:45. Not much sleep. She's headed to Phoenix, I did hear her tell our driver that. Probably headed to visit family for a bit before the holidays, or maybe she's headed 'home' for an extended visit. She's going to get to rest among people who love her and whom she loves. What a great traditional Christmas!
As I played this in my head, a fleeting thought entered.
Scenario #2: She's traveling awfully light. I wonder if maybe an emergency arose and she's had to quickly pack and head to visit loved ones. Maybe someone has had an accident and is in the hospital. Or worse, maybe there's been a death and she's had to drop everything and rush home. What a shame too, this close to Christmas.
This thought stayed with me as the driver pulled to her terminal and she rose to get her single piece of luggage. Her shoulders were slumped and she walked fairly slowly. As much as I hate to even think it, her destination couldn't be one that she had eagerly looked forward to like my family and I were. This lady was still on my mind as the driver pulled up to our terminal and helped us unload. I looked around at the other sleepy souls and began wondering about their stories as well.
Everyone has a story.
The party in front of me oozed excitement. I overheard one of the girls tell the gentlemen checking in their luggage that they were running late and needed to get information about their gate. You could just feel the energy coming from her. As we followed this group into security, I noticed she was carrying a white garment bag that looked like it held a wedding dress. I had noticed they had relinquished their passports, so once again my mind began to wander. What exotic place were they headed to? She was getting married out of the country! How romantic. I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned forward and asked her if she was getting married. "Yes! We are headed to the Cayman Islands!" She was exuberant, almost physically bouncing. I wanted to bounce with her. "How exciting!" She bounded off with a wave.
As I headed to our gate with my family, I looked around at everyone else in the terminal. How many of them were excited for where they were headed? How many were dreading the visit?
My family and I vacationed in Hawaii a couple of summers ago. Here we were in paradise, but still there was a homeless man hanging around outside our resort. After seeing him for about four days, I couldn't stand it anymore. I sat down next to him and asked him his story (enter my husband here, like a ninja). Although he was quite intoxicated and it was obvious he was suffering from a mental illness, I will never forget Sid. I reflect on him often, and all of the other 'Sids' out there who have a story, but are never quite able to tell it.
With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it's so very easy to overlook what is really important. And I'm not only talking about the true reason for the season. I'm talking about the ability to really connect with those around you, be it family and friends or just the person ahead of you in a long check out line. Most of us get so focused on 'the stuff' we need to get done -catching up at work, Christmas shopping, holiday parties and such- that we forget about those who may really need someone to ask them their story, even just briefly.
And we may need to reflect on our own stories, just to remind us where we have come from.
And where we are going.