I have not spent a lot of time in airports.

All my family lives nearby; I don't frequently jet off on fancy vacations; and when my husband travels for business, his comings and goings are at irregular times and he usually drives himself.

But yesterday, I had the chance to fly to visit my husband while he is on a business trip. That meant landing in Atlanta--the busiest airport in the world--on the busiest travel day of the year.

You might think that means chaos. You might think that means crowds. You might think that means craziness. And yes, there was a little bit of that.

But there was also magic.

I found my way to a place called the "arrivals lounge"--basically a giant hallway inbetween two baggage claims--and it was absolutely PACKED. Everywhere you looked there were people. People with handmade signs saying "Welcome Home." Men holding flowers. Little girls holding balloons. People with video cameras. Soldiers in uniform. An airport employee stood in the middle of the hallway, waving her arms like an orchestra conductor, directing the constant stream of people, "Delta this way, American that way, baggage claim over here." And everyone, everywhere, had that same hopeful, expectant look on their face--the look that says, "In just a minute, someone I love is going to walk into the room." You could practically breathe the anticipation in that place.

And all around me, it was happening. Through the crowds, two people's eyes would meet, and then they'd be striding over to each other, big grins on their faces. Hugging! I've never seen so much hugging in my life. Kids and grandparents, husbands and wives, soldiers who'd been away for who knows how long, all coming home for the holiday and being swept into the arms of someone they loved.

I was only in the arrivals lounge for a few minutes, because then my own loved one came striding through the crowd, and after that I didn't pay a single bit of attention to the giant love-fest going on all around me--just to him. But I want to tell you, that for all the negative talk that's going on about airports this year, all the fuss about security scans and pat-downs and terrorist fears--there was nothing but happiness in that room.

In fact, if you are feeling cynical--if you're starting to feel that the world is an uncaring place and there's no such thing as real love in this life--then I have a challenge for you. Go to the arrivals lounge, Atlanta airport, day before Thanksgiving, and stand there for five minutes.

I dare you not to smile.