Joy.

Joy.  Simple pure joy.  Why do we forget so quickly how important that is?  The moment of pure bliss and happiness.  It doesn't happen all the time and many times we miss it, we forget to notice that moment, but then other times, well, we see it clear as day.  I have found one place that is consistently full of pure joy.  A place where tears of happiness flow steadily, smiles are the widest and the hugs are the most genuine, the one place where true raw emotions run fast and hard.  It is at the security doors outside of baggage claim at the MSP airport.

My friend Jen told me during my days in Alaska, that if you ever want to feel pure happiness, go to the airport.  From sadness from saying goodbye, to happiness of seeing a loved one, it all happens in this one spot.  Every Christmas I watch, "Love Actually" and adore the scenes highlighting the emotions occurring at the airport, and in all my flights this has always been the case.  Walking through those doors spur a sense of excitement, of happiness, of joy.  It was there, by baggage claim #3, outside of the security gate at the MSP Airport that I saw it,  the joy in my parents' eyes the moment saw my brother in the flesh for the first time in over a year.

As the escalator continued to its downward movement, I started scanning legs.  Too short.  Nope.  High heels.  Nope.  Winter boots, leggings.  Nope and nope.  And then they appeared - tan feet in a set of wore flip flops with a set of hairy legs attached.  Josh slowly rode the escalator down as I notified my parents of his arrival and then as they both turned around you could feel the exhale, the exhale of year's worth of concern and curiosity followed by the inhale of pure joy.  Their son was home.

The questions and hugs came fast and hard - How was the flight? Are you hungry? Aren't you cold?!?!  My brother answered them all as we worked our way out of the airport and towards the parking ramp.  It was at the ramp that reality set in - my brother had traveled for several hours in his flip flops and shorts to arrive in a state were the current temperature was a balmy 25 degrees.  As we huddled into the car, blasting the seat warmers, we continued to learn about his travels, his new love for Vietnamese coffee, and his teaching aventures in Vietnam.  As the wheels of the car turned on those chilly Minnesota roads, so did the chatter and the excitement to have our entire family in one car, in the same state, and in the same moment of joy.

As we arrived back in Royalton and unloaded our bodies and filed into our childhood home, I found myself letting it sink in.  The joy that comes from being around those who you have grown in front of, who have seen you at the your best and at your worst and still believe in you, who help you to find your breath and push on.  My family does this to greatest extent and to be surrounded by all of them only reminded me of how important family truly is in this life.  For better or worse, they are there and in their most authentic form.  There will be, and have been, days where you truly do not appreciate them, or their opinions, but they are family, so you listen.  Then there are days where you finally get it and see what they were trying to teach and share with you.  The understanding to live life to the fullest, to push yourself, to believe in yourself and to always be on the lookout for that moment of pure joy.