Bread crumbs and Airports (eternalDomnation).
Airports are a feeding frenzy for perspective seekers. I love airports. I do. Always have. Terminals pulse, day or night, and the tingling vibrations that match the flickers of the fluorescent lights always remind me that I’m going somewhere. It makes me feel alive – part of something, dare I say, bigger.
Last night, my wife and I walked towards the baggage claim. Red-eyed, we pushed our stroller – the one that failed the most recent crumb emissions standards – through the terminal and had a conversation that went something like this:
Wife: Isn’t it amazing how many people there are?
Me: I know, this terminal is packed.
Wife: No, in the world. I mean, we are really just so small in the grand scheme of things aren’t we?
Me: Oh right. I guess so.
Me: (barely audible – mumbled) Oh snap, perspective. I love airports. I should blog about…
It really is amazing how the zig-zagging masses can trivialize my list of to-dos, work anxieties, and really just the laundry list of inconsequential ‘things’ that tend to stress me out – and at the same time I’m puzzled how the airport ritual can also make me feel like I’m part of something much bigger. On some days, it feels like the world’s 7 billion people are taking off their shoes to go through security just ahead of me. On others, I can navigate the corridors and change continents without even breaking a sweat.
The perspective gained last night is pretty clear. It’s true, we are but one tiny piece in something much larger, but we are also a larger piece in something much smaller – our world, our lives, and our opportunity to make the most out of the time we have. At the airport, there are departures and arrivals, hellos and goodbyes, tears of happiness and unfortunately despair – and it’s this antithesis flow that probably makes me feel so alive. Because that’s life, isn’t it?
And for me, holding my wife’s hand and pushing our son beyond the crumb trail behind us, one slice of certainty emerged: whether I’m coming or going, the only world that matters to me is the one that is defined by the moments that make us a family.
Categories: Writing
eternal Domnation 
To (mis)quote Indiana Jones “It’s not the airports, it’s the miles!” Miles of queues. Miles of shops full of unnecessary objects. Miles of security checks. Unlike you, I can’t bear airports…the only reason I use them is because they are still the gateway to undiscovered pleasures!
So true. Our families are our own little universes in this huge world. I really enjoyed this!
It’s all relative isn’t it? Thank you so much for the read and comment, really appreciate it!
Airports are stories waiting to be told … or in some cases, to be made up!
Great people watching and pulse generating places.
That is absolutely
writeright! 🙂This is the very thing I love about walking around New York. Adrift in a sea of the masses I am never more aware of my own magnitude.
Right? Despite the crowds and span, it’s like you have the entire city at your finger tips…
Reading your writing is like listening to soothing music – I mean that! Really enjoyed this post. Family is what defines us, gives us our sense of place.
My deepest sympathy to you on the loss of your Mom and your sister.
Looking forward to following your blog, and reading your stories in the future!
What a wonderful compliment, seriously. You didn’t have to do that, thank you, you have really made my day! And thank you for your kind words of sympathy, I truly appreciate it. Looking forward to sharing more posts going forward, thanks again!
Love love love you both (I mean – you three!). x
Mwaaahhhh! Right back at ya D!
This is my first time visiting your blog- it was a sweet story to read- I’m glad I made the click- will return!
I’m also very glad you made the click! Thank you for reading and I hope to see you pop up in the comments again soon!
Thanks for the reminder! I just took a moment to read your post in between house hunting and almost stressed. Glad I did. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!!!
Great blog and great perspective! We are so big and yet so small.
As a parent I think we understand this even more through the responsibility and accountability that, if we let it, would crush us! Every meal time, every night time routine, every boundary enforced.
I will look forward to more entries.
Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words of support! I agree – being a relatively new dad (my son is almost 14 months old), I believe this perspective to be even more evident, and important. There is only so much we can control – and only so much at the end of the day that really matters! 🙂