While waiting to
pick up a friend at the airport in
changing experiences that you hear other people talk about. You know, the kind
that sneaks up on you unexpectedly? Well, this one occurred a mere two feet
away from me! Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning
through the jetway, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags.
He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First, he motioned
to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave
each other a long, and movingly loving hug. As they separated enough to look in
each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son.
I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, diverted his eyes,
and replied softly, “Me too, Dad!”
Then the man stood
up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe 9 or 10) and while cupping his
son’s face in his hands he said, “You’re already quite the young man. I
love you very much Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug. His
son said nothing. No reply was necessary.
While this was
happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one and a half) was squirming excitedly
in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight
of her returning father. The man said, “Hi babygirl!” as he gently
took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then
held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little
girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder and remained
motionless in total pure contentment.
After several
moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve
saved the best for last!” and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most
passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several
seconds and then silently mouthed, “I love you so much!.” They stared
into each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both
hands. For an instant, they reminded me of newlyweds but I knew by the age of
their kids that they couldn’t be. I puzzled about it for a moment, then
realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional
love not more than an arm’s length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable,
as if I were invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice
nervously ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married?”
“Been together
fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied without
breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have
you been away?” I asked. The man finally looked at me, still beaming his
joyous smile and told me, “Two whole days!”
Two days?! I was
stunned! I was certain by the intensity of the greeting I just witnessed that
he’d been gone for at least several weeks, if not months, and I know my
expression betrayed me. So I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my
intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my
friend), “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve
years!”
The man suddenly
stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with an intensity that
burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different
person. He told me, “Don’t hope friend…decide.” Then he flashed me
his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!.” With
that, he and his family turned and energetically strode away together.
I was still watching that exceptional man and
his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and
asked, “What’cha looking at?” Without hesitating, and with a curious
sense of certainty, I replied, “My future!”
Michael D. Hargrove
