Two blogs ago, I mentioned an impending reunion of 4 year-old grand-daughter, Maddie, with her parents returning from a nation's capital vacation. I would be taking Maddie to the airport with me as I retrieved the vacationers. This was the longest she had been away from her parents. Carole and I were growing weary of trying to find ways to respond to her repeated laments, "I miss my Mommy." "I want my Daddy". There wasn't really anything we could say to successfully assuage her grief.
But now Friday evening had arrived. Maddie and I waited in the passenger pickup area as AA flight 343 taxiied to the gate. Blake called me as soon as they exited the plane. I told him to call me again when he and Jaime exited the terminal. Maddie was getting a bit impatient. She had been waiting for over 4 days and the anticipation was deliciously intense. Finally, the phone rang and I instructed Blake to turn left and start walking...we were an easy football field apart.
Since Blake is quite tall, I spotted him first. I didn't tell Maddie...I wanted them to be a bit closer before I released her for the glorious reunion sprint. There were other folks walking in front of Blake and Jaime, but finally Mommy came into view. I pointed her out to Maddie and suddenly all the pent-up emotion had a release. Maddie showed how fast a 4 year-old could run, and Jaime was also running. When they were about 20 yards apart, both mother and daughter were already crying. Maddie was screaming, "Mommmiiiiieeee!!".
Suddenly they were embracing in an ecstatic, spinning-wheel bearhug, with tears being slung in all directions. I couldn't take it. I quickly moved to help Blake with the luggage. I'm sure he didn't feel slighted by Maddie. After all, somebody had to be hugged first.
3 comments:
What a sweet picture you painted! I could not help think about our God and how much He loves it when we run into his arms. Hope you and Carol are getting some good rest :)
I knew I was the one going to be left out of that scene.....but it was nice.
The sweetest sound in the world is when a child screams out your name because they are excited to see you. It pulls on my heart every time and it takes hours to wipe the ear to ear grin off my face. Thanks for sharing this!
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