We get our boarding passes and Sweetie Pie looks at me smiling. “I gotta take a picture!” she says giggling. I don’t know it until later but my straw hat is very unhappy at being removed from the humidity of its natural habitat. The brim is rolling up and twisting in its losing battle with arid conditioning and has gone all Clem Cadiddlehopper on me without my notice. Sweetie Pie snaps a picture. A passing traveler asks if we’d like a picture together. Sweetie Pie runs over and pulls my hat off, plunking it on her head. She doesn’t want a picture with me looking like the first one!
We get into the security line for departure and there is a family in front of us with two young girls around six or seven who’ve had nice braid jobs done. It takes me back again to my little girl, she loved having her hair braided on Caribbean vacations. “How long do you think you’ll keep them,” I ask,” I think my daughters record was about six weeks.” “Longer than that!” says one girl. “Forever!” says the other. They are adorable. A few corral turns later and the girls are in a very important discussion with their Dad. “How can it be, desert and dessert? They’re nothing like each other and they’re spelled the same.” Their Dad patiently explains that they’re not the same but many times words have different meanings. They don’t get it. “That makes no sense!” they say, “Desserts are delicious and deserts are terrible!” I laugh and the Dad looks at me and smiles. “I remember telling my kids about that,” I say, “They didn’t get it either. Don’t EVEN mention deserters.” He laughs, “Oh, I know. I’m not going to touch that one. I think all parents have this conversation.” “You know, I not only remember having that conversation with my kids, I remember thinking that made no sense as a kid. I think it may be the first paradox kids are aware of because of the treat connection,” I say and I’m moved by the synchronicity of this moment. “Circle of life,” says the dad.
We get to the boarding area and look for Robin. We find her and have a seat. She’s had a great week, she says, but she is kind of morose. We hope it is because her week was so great she didn’t want to leave. The plane is late departing and they pre-load a very elderly lady in a wheel chair with an oxygen tank.
