I work in the gate area of a very small, almost intimate, airport. People get a
beer or a soda, some jalapeño chips and a magazine, and go sit in a rocking
chair or on a windowsill. I tell them that gossip magazines and chocolate
are what actually keep the aircraft up there…forget about aerodynamics, there's
no such thing.
I don't really have much to do in work. Ok, I don't
have anything to do in work...I just stand there and wait for someone to
buy a newspaper, gum, a condom...whatever.
So I have a lot of time to engage in an activity I really enjoy....people watching.
From my vantage point…a perfect spot directly across from the bar area and the café, I see it all…..family dynamics, relationship dramas, personality clashes, and really cute little kids.
I see couples laughing, holding hands, exchanging email addresses with people they met on vacation, promising to keep in touch.
I also see couples ignoring each other, each spouse looking off into space, perhaps dreaming of flying away alone, or with someone else, anyone else.
Don’t dream about it…do it! Do it now before you begin to resent this person for keeping you from living the life you really want to live.! Do it now before they begin to resent you for the same reason. Free them…free yourself. This life doesn’t last long enough to spend it being unhappy. Do it.
The clock is ticking.
I see babies holding onto Daddies’ fingers, taking their first steps, and everyone smiles at the babies and at the proud Daddies.
I also see babies in pimped-out strollers, tiny BMWs. Babies smiling up at Mommy, cooing to Mommy, while Mommy sits at the bar, drinking her wine, and talking on her cell phone.
Mommy, do you know how long your baby will be a baby? In about 10 minutes she’ll be rolling her eyes at you because she can’t believe you said something so stupid, or he’ll be asking for money to go to the mall to pick out his own clothes…without you. Put the phone down and pick her up, Mommy. Coo to her.
The clock is ticking.
I see middle-aged people pushing old people in wheelchairs, leaning down to better hear their loving parent speak. “Do you need the restroom, Mom?” “Daddy, you want a bottle of water?”
I also see short-tempered children with little patience for the now old parent who planned their birthday parties, made them soup when they were sick, walked them down the aisle.
The clock is ticking.
