People Watching in the Airports and the Lessons They Taught Me

Waiting for planes in airports is a good excuse for people watching. We really are a many and varied species!

I wonder how I looked to others who were people watching – steaming through the airports, with a white backpack, and black cross body handbag? (Doug always looks spiffy: blue blazer, sport shirt, and gray slacks.)

Now, worrying about how others see me is not a good use of time. A favorite reality check comes from the Daily Walk Bible:

We would worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do. (Page 219)

But, people watching in airports underscored some of us should worry more! A whole lot of us should check ourselves in the mirror before leaving home and channel our inner Dr. Phil:

How’s that [outfit] working for you?

Well, you retort, if the airlines are gonna pack us in like cattle, what’s the sense of getting too spiffy?

Point taken . . .

Plus, I read in the seat pocket reading material, it’s wise not to be dressed in one’s best bib and tucker because constrictive clothing may create in-flight medical emergencies.

Howsomeever, the overuse of spandex pants, shorts, and tops is creating fashion emergencies for women and men. I spied many style disasters moving through both airports, BWI and DFW.

Here’s what I noticed:

While some souls looked super in yoga pants and their derivatives, most of us did not. What looks good on a size 2 or 4 creates an entirely different impression for anyone heavier than 2 ounces over their ideal body weight.
A few of my contemporaries should remember plaid shorts and printed tops are a hard look to carry off, even for a runway model. Also, seasoned citizens wearing shorts in public . . . well, we don’t want to scare the children, do we?
Addias slide shoes and dark socks. . . What were you thinking?

People watching in airports taught me three lessons.

First, I’m never too old to make smarter choices about my appearance.
Second, keep moving, if we want to keep traveling. Everybody else in airports are walking FAST, and are looking down at their devices, not watching out for cute old folks like Doug and me.
Finally, keep making sensible food choices–even if spandex will always be an unwise fabric choice for me.

Yep; I am old — maybe you are too, dear reader; but, just as the last stage of a flower’s life can be most glorious, so can ours, right?

John, the loving husband, in “Calendar Girls” tells his wife, Annie, that “. . . the last stage of the flower is most glorious.” Sweet wisdom to any woman who passed middle age a decade or so ago! I hope this stage of my garden will be glorious – reflecting the handiwork of the good and patient Gardner, who had every right to weed me from His garden – yet, showed me kindness. (About Me)