Missing

While flying to and fro(or was it hither and yon?)a couple of weeks ago I started to get annoyed. I couldn't figure out why. Nothing specifically was annoying. On one flight I sat down and started to sort out my feelings. Ugh. I realized that I was missing something. Something was missing. The reunions. There used to be the most touching reunions at the gates of airports. I have been privileged to witness quite a few. The tears of joy, the shouts and laughter, the kisses and hugs, flowers and balloons, the crowds of rellies at the gates...they are gone. Long gone. I wonder if others felt it too. There was a certain grouchiness in the air and we all trudged along. We trudged. I held out hope that at baggage claim there would be what I longed to see. Nope. The band did not strike up at baggage claim either. I did however pick up the pace when I saw my husband. I ran to him and threw my arms around him. There was laughing and crying and kissing. I was swept up in my own little reunion and what I so desperately wanted to witness, I experienced.