The Best Sound Ever

Sitting in the airport’s overcrowded International Arrivals lounge with seven children will never be my definition of a good idea.  This past Saturday, I did it anyway.  The Computer Guy was returning from two weeks in Turkey and the children refused to be left at home to await his return.

It was 102* outside and the kids and I were melting long before we finished the hike to the terminal.  When we got to the International area, it became apparent that it was National Deodorant is Optional Day.  (Little hint: that day is totally bogus.  Put on the deodorant in 102* heat.  Trust me on this.) While the big kids and I simply gave each other meaningful looks, the littles were quite vociferous in their displeasure at smelling the scent of all humanity.

We moved a bit further away from the gate.

My sweet husband texted to say that although his plane had landed 15 minutes early, customs officials were inspecting every bag.  It would be an hour or more until we could see him.  I knew there was no way that seven children would stand quietly and wait for an hour.

We went in search of seven empty seats all in the same area.

The peace of children in chairs lasted for all of 3 minutes.  #3 seemed determined to find a way to turn his seat into a bed.  He determinedly slid, twisted, and pretzeled himself into fantastic contortions in an effort to be comfortable.  #’s 5 and 6 screamed with delight over every plane’s landing or taking off.  At one of the world’s busiest airports, that was approximately every 2 seconds.  The people around us were not amused at their boyish enthusiasm and began shooting me dirty looks.  #4 swung her legs with ever increasing force against her seat, which would have been no biggie except that all the seats in a row were connected, so the people 10 seats over could feel her fidgeting. They weren’t real happy about that. #2 wanted to discuss every news story CNN was showing that afternoon as he watched the TV mounted on the post in front of him.  #7 wanted only to crawl on that dirty, nasty airport floor and shrieked her displeasure at being denied doing so. #1 looked at all of us with impatience and tried to actually disappear into her iPhone.

Half an hour into our wait, #1 was sharing headphones with the 2 year old.  The other little kids had talked me into letting them play Fruit Ninja on my phone, and #3 was still turning around like a cat in his seat.  There was still chaos reigning, but it was a subdued form of chaos.

It was quiet enough for me to hear the folks seated behind me discussing my unruly crew. “What kind of person brings a day care to the airport?”  “You don’t think that’s all one family, do you?” “Surely not.  Who has a family that big nowadays?”

They were never rude or snarky, we were simply their people watching entertainment for the moment, so I returned the favor and eavesdropped.

Before much longer, the Computer Guy stepped out of the gate and was spotted by #3.  He jumped up and shrieked “Dad’s here!” The joyful chorus was quickly taken up by the whole group.  Even the baby squealed in excitement, although I don’t think she knew quite why.

As they raced across the room and threw themselves at their father, I stopped to gather up toys and bags.  I lingered just long enough to hear our audience sigh, “Oh my.  They are one family.  I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Wow.” Her companion said. “Could you imagine being welcomed home that way?  That’s one lucky guy.”

I just smiled to myself, because I completely agree.