A Conversation at the Airport

It was 6 am and we were standing in line waiting to board our plane.

Because of our kids, we’re the first to line up when they call for people who need extra time getting on the plane. It always takes us so much longer because of all our bags (we refuse to check bags and always do carry-ons and yes, we can fit everything we need no matter how long the trip is) and it’s actually been so nice since we’ve been traveling as a family more this year.

While we were lining up, there was a small delay; they had called for us too soon, so we stood there a little longer waiting to walk on the runway. While we were waiting, this woman behind me, dressed in a brown cashmere sweater and form-fitting khaki pants, asked how old our children were.

She did so with a smile on her face and I could tell she had been watching them for the last few minutes. I told her their ages and she said, “Oh I remember how fun those ages are! Be sure to enjoy every minute of it because they grow up so fast.” That last line is one I’ve heard probably 100 times just in the last year, and it’s one I’ve come to expect from other parents. After the first few times of it being told to me, I almost started to begin to roll my eyes because it’s such a cliche statement, right? But then it didn’t take me long to realize they were right.

Time moves so quickly with small children and they and their interests change on a daily basis. It’s confusing because on one hand, I love it. I love to see them discover new things and grow and watch how their little minds process things and learn. But on the other hand, there is a part of me that longs for them to be little forever. I’m so used to them being at this stage in their lives that I forget how small Anna was when she came to us, or how Allan talked when he was four. Little details like those I want to remember forever if I can help it.

The woman told me she had two children but they’re adults now. She said she loved those younger years so much and misses them, but then she told me something else:

She said it’s so much fun to do life with her children now that they’re older. To have a glass of wine with them. To hear about their dating life and job. She said the other night her son, who was maybe mid 20’s, called her after a first date and they talked on the phone for 45 minutes about how it went. How fun and comforting is that?

I told her she must know she did something right as a parent when her adult son calls his mom to talk about a date he just went on as if he was calling his best friend. She laughed and said she agreed.

PJ and I talk about our kids getting older and how much fun it’ll be to experience them as adults, much like how the woman described it to me. She confirmed something that we were already looking forward to, and I was grateful for our little five minute exchange at six in the morning.

I have thought about our conversation on and off for the last week, each time getting more and more excited to just do life with Allan, Riah and Anna, knowing that there were maybe a million different lives where if we had just done one thing differently, we may not have them now. It’s as if the planets aligned and everything came together at the perfect time just so we could could call ourselves a family.

It’s little conversations like the one I had with the woman at the airport that remind me how lucky we are to have them.