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What a Layover Taught Me About Life
I used to feel the same way! This year, my birthday fell right in the middle of our family trip to Austria. My partner had found the only non-stop flight from London, but it came with a three-and-a-half-hour layover in Hamburg, Germany. The thought of that long layover filled me with dread. A week before we flew, I was asking my partner what we were supposed to do in Hamburg for three and a half hours, while he reminded me that he had meticulously planned every detail of the trip, and I’d just been sipping wine and enjoying the ride.
The first leg of the journey went smoothly, and we enjoyed a pleasant hour-long flight to Hamburg. But once we landed, it felt like everyone had the same layover, as we stepped into a terminal that looked like… well, an American airport. (If you’ve traveled internationally, you know that American airports are pretty sad compared to the rest of the world.)
In Hamburg, all international passengers had to go through security again before boarding the next flight. Unfortunately, on that day, the security staff were on strike, leading to massive queues that twisted through the terminal. To keep our kids entertained, we set them up in a corner of the security area, allowing them to play while we held our places in line.
Then Something Unexpected Happened
My daughter, lost in her own world with her iPod, had entrusted her favorite stuffed animal to my son. He was making it do tricks, as kids do, and one of the tricks involved walking up a wall. I watched him as he waved the toy at a red wall fixture, and then… chaos erupted! A siren blared, red lights flashed, and a massive iron curtain dropped from the ceiling, effectively dividing the security area and blocking the lines of confused passengers. Airport staff rushed to manage the situation, pushing people back or ushering them through. It was like a scene from a movie.
I quickly grabbed my son, unsure if he had really triggered the alarm, but suspecting he might have. We stood there, waiting, while the curtain remained down. When I finally looked up, I spotted a group of burly firefighters in bright yellow suits coming to investigate. They looked bewildered, scratching their heads and pointing at the ceiling.
The sound I made was akin to that of a cartoon character in a hysterical moment. I turned to my partner, feeling the need to apologize. “I think I should say something,” I blurted out.
“Don’t say a word!” he hissed. “We don’t even speak German!”
Just then, a nearby mom with a little girl tapped my shoulder. “Don’t say anything,” she advised in a heavy accent. “What your son did might not have been right,” she said, gesturing toward Charlie, who was trying to blend into the shadows, “but this is an embarrassment for the Hamburg Airport. Let them figure it out.”
This insider tip was a relief. Who better to navigate German bureaucracy than a local? We stayed quiet, and with most of the crowd stuck behind the curtain, the lines moved faster. We finally made it through security and to our gate. We’d narrowly escaped an international incident, and since it was my 40th birthday, we celebrated with a glass of prosecco.
As we toasted, my partner reminded me that he was the one who booked the flight with the long layover. It hit me then that layovers deserve some respect. Isn’t life just one long layover? Turning 40 feels like a layover too—caught between youth and old age, between chasing dreams and accepting reality. For moms like me, it’s a transition from caring for toddlers to navigating the teenage years—a unique twilight zone of its own. A brief pause in our journey can be a wonderful reminder that the current moment is just as valuable as the destination.
As we boarded the plane, I spotted that German mom with her little girl again. We promised ourselves to keep our son away from anything that could cause another alarm.
Summary
This light-hearted reflection on an unexpected airport layover reveals how life’s pauses can offer valuable lessons. A chaotic moment leads to a realization that life transitions, much like layovers, can be meaningful and remind us to appreciate the present.