I just got off from a 14-hour flight, passed the very stressful immigration in LAX and so you can expect that I was looking the worse for wear. I was too oblivious to my surroundings, dreaming of a nice cold shower. I was sitting next to a lady and two men on an airport bus that would take us to the regional terminal. I didn't know the lady was sobbing until the older gentleman offered a handkerchief. She politely declined. After a few minutes, the younger man who turned out to be a pilot asked my seatmate if she's alright. We learned that she's trying to catch the soonest flight to Oregon because she had just learned that her father was literally hours away from dying and she might not make it on time. The lady offered a few more details. The doctors just started administering morphine and her father had been holding on for as long as he could. I didn't know how to respond to that kind of news from a stranger but I gotta give it to my seatmates for being compassionate and sensitive people. "I'm sure your father is holding on because he is waiting for you", the old man said.
The lump in my throat wouldn't go away. It was a hot day in LA and I could use a drink but the line was really long in the one and only deli cafe in the regional airport. I had a small talk with the man in front of me. I told him I was off to San Francisco to meet my Dad. He asked if he lives in the US and I told him, no, but he reports to the CEO in Silicon Valley every quarter so this is a good time to visit the US and bond with him. It must've been hard being away from my family, he sympathized. I asked him back where he was off to and casually replied, "Texas. I'm also going there to meet my Dad, but it's because he is very ill at the moment."
I was genuinely sorry to hear this.
Life works in a funny way. I could have gone anywhere else. I thought of going to New Zealand, Japan, or the Philippines instead but I really wanted a quality father-daughter time and so I booked this trip. I was a bit apprehensive because I never really knew how to talk to my dad when it's just the two of us but, just hours before we met, life showed me that there are people, who can be sitting right next to me, who are literally chasing time to be with their fathers for the last time.
You see, every day we meet thousands of people who are going through different things in life and we won't ever find out. We are occupied by our own tribulations that we tend to forget this truth and that is completely understandable. But this is a powerful reminder to mindfully exercise my gratitude especially for very valuable human connections that I still have. For having good health and financial means to meet them even when I live miles away. For having the luxury of time to do so. And for all the many little things that I should have been grateful for a long time ago.