airports and hospitals

There are some places in this world that can and do evoke emotions.
Joy, sadness, hate, love, compassion, apathy, boredom, excitement, anticipation, irritation.
recently at the airport flying home at 4 a.m. after being awake all night, i had a flashback to the times when I was especially emotional at that place.
a few days later, i was reminded again of those emotions as I waited for my nephew to be born at the hospital.
If you could capture the emotions in those places, it would be wondrous.

Airports...the comings and goings and the least sedentary place available.
I watched as family's parted and lovers reunited. The frantic pace of the world spinning its fastest.

The memories of leaving my dad behind in Florida as a I flew home when I was 14 and cried my tears into a business class window seat. The time when I couldn't turn my back to leave a man behind, but in hindsight know that I should have done it a lot sooner. Waiting impatiently to see my mom after more than a year of any quality time.
It makes my head swirl in and out of the thin wisps of memories that are only semi-permanently lodged in my brain.

The hospital.
Ok, that one goes without saying, of course there are going to be emotions there.

The last few times I've visited that place (save for a little over a week ago) it was to face traumatic moments. Like five months ago when I held my grandma's hand at 5:55 a.m. and told her it was OK to go. That we were going to be OK. The night I led my family in prayer outside of her room and thanked God for giving her to us for 82 years and building a strong family.
Then a week later as I made the sign of the cross on my best friend's grandmother's head a day before she died. And I felt the pain of my own grandma's passing increase 20 fold.
Or years ago when we anxiously waited for word on whether our friends were going to make it through a terrible car accident. One didn't. And crying as the sound of the machine hooked up to his heart flat lined.

But the times when I counted for my sister to push my nephews into this world and cried at the sight of a new life to love. And nine days ago when I walked into my best friend's hospital room and cried at the sight of her close-knit family that had welcomed a new baby only hours before.
And was excited because this beautiful new baby was going to make us smile and laugh and love for years to come.

So you see, it's not earth-shattering or a revelation, but it was important enough that I wanted to write about it. It's emotional, and that's exactly what I am right now. emotional.

life's-a-changing and I'm ready.