Hey, friends! Greetings from the Business Class Lounge at O’Hare Airport, where I’m kickin’ it as I wait for my flight to start boarding. Thank you, Dad’s travel expenses on my British Airways credit card, for giving me the points to take the flight with an upgrade! When I first arrived, the middle-aged British couple next to me toasted each other with their glasses of wine, saying “Cheers!” and I nearly giggled out loud at their cute British accent. Trying to disguise my glee at being able to travel internationally is so tiring, and I’ve pretty much stopped trying. 🙂
I had just settled into my spot on the cozy couch with my laptop and iPod, complimentary Chardonnay at my side, when I saw a family come in. Mom, Dad, 12-year-old-ish son, and a daughter in a wheelchair. The daughter looked to be about 15, and must have been undergoing some kind of cancer treatment as she’s got just a slight fuzz of hair. They asked me, in their wonderful British accents, for my seat on the couch so the daughter could lie down, which I naturally gave them. As I type away this afternoon, I’m watching them as unobtrusively as possible. I’m watching Mom, Dad and even younger brother (who’d I’d expect to be surly at his age) take care of the daughter, bringing her water and tiny triangular sandwiches. I’m watching Mom watch the daughter as the daughter rests on the couch with a movie on her iPad, and watching Dad look up with concern from his paper whenever the daughter speaks.
I’m glad the daughter has a place like this to rest. I can’t imagine her trying to be comfortable in the plastic chairs at the crowded gate. I’m praying that she recovers, and is able to cram herself into those uncomfortable gate chairs someday with her husband and children when this trip is just a distant memory.
And I’m trying not to imagine how having a child with a serious illness can absolutely dominate your life. How you never get a day off, a moment without it, and how it overshadows everything around you. I’m trying to hide here, with my keyboard and my Chardonnay, and not think about it.
But it isn’t working.
What a good reminder to be thankful for the blessings in your life as you head out on a wonderful trip.