HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- An embrace with a loved one is something we need year-round, but the holidays at an airport truly unleash that most human experience. Despite the heaviness of the news lately, excited, patient grandparents and smiling gate greetings from little ones filled the terminals at Richmond International Airport ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Family reunion time!” said one local grandfather waiting to see his 16-month-old granddaughter. “Family is so important.”
Gracie and Madison Seeterlin and Lyndsey Houser, all cousins, spent their morning delivering apple coffee cakes to family members, and the trio sported festive holiday hats, adorned with colorful lights, while they did so.
“We’ve been dropping them off at all of our family member’s houses with the hats and coffee cakes,” Gracie said.
They were waiting at the airport, in their hats, to scoop up their most special delivery of the day.
“Pick up Jamie, my brother, to surprise my parents for Thanksgiving. They don’t know he’s coming down,” Gracie said. “Pretty exciting! I know my mom’s going to be very excited, very emotional.”
Even the best-planned trips come with their own surprises. For Kendra Johnson, that came at the check-in counter.
“I was just over there repacking us up so our bags are underweighting for the flight,” Kendra said.
She is traveling with her five-year-old daughter, Ma’at, and her mother Susie; three generations on the final leg of their holiday journey from North Carolina to the Big Apple.
“We’re going to New York to see my oldest daughter because she made it clear she’s not traveling for the holiday, and if we were interested in seeing her, we had to come there. So, like good family, we’re doing that,” Kendra said.
The weight of everything going on in the world recently is on Kendra’s mind, but mainly because she said the holidays serve as a reminder that family and friends help lighten that load.
“Tune into what’s most important. When it comes down to it, family and our close friends, relationships — that’s what matters most in the end. Nurturing those things and taking the time out to spend the time.It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, just enjoy each other, create memories. It’s most important,” Kendra said.
“Even if you got to repack your bags?” asked CBS 6 anchor Jake Burns with a laugh.
“Even if got to repack your bags!” Kendra replied.
