airport reunions

whenever i travel home for holidays there is always the anticipation of running in to long ago friends . when i was in college it was the best. it was always a blast reuniting with old friends. now im just happy to see a familiar face. even if i see an old friend traveling im lucky if i recognize them. looks change over the years. some for the better. others for worse.
when i see the college students travelling im always nostalgic..... sometimes i forget and search their faces trying to recognize in them an old friend which would be impossible.... thats the thing. i know that time has passed, but its hard to admit. i dont feel any older than 21 , but i know that i am.
my home city's airport is always fun. i may not recognize my old friends faces, but i usually can spot their parents. they look more familiar anyway. they've aged too, but since they always were at least 20 years older it seems they arent much different. they still appear older.
it always amazes me how people age at such varied rates. i dont know why this should surprise me. the physical mirrors the spiritual. people reach different milestones in their lives at varied ages- marriage... children... careers... own homes... why wouldnt this go for aging?
when one is a kid everyone is in first grade at six yrs old, tenth grade at fifteen, get a drivers license at 16 or 17 depending on the city, but when you leave high school you are on your own. you might finish college at 21 , you might finish college at 40 or you might not go to college at all.
some marry at 20 , others at 30 or 40, some never. some make seventy thousand at 30. some will never make that much money. ever. some go gray in their late twenties, some dont get a white hair until forty. some have liver spots at 23 others dont have a laugh line until 50.
i guess its easier to hide the passage of time in your achievements or lack there of . just dont mention one's demons and no one will be any wiser. when one notices visually how much someone has changed its more striking. much harder to hide. if one looks close enough one can tell. only so much one can hide.
one notices the passage of time most amongst those one hasnt seen in awhile which is why i feel the passage of time most when i revisit my former city of residence.