‘We’ve Got a Lot to Be Thankful for,’ Thanksgiving Holiday Reunion at the Airports

Travelers tell heartwarming holiday stories

People at the airports give reminders of the reason for the reunion on the Thanksgiving holiday

Thanksgiving stories

There’s something special about the airport night before Thanksgiving. The air is lighter. The smiles are brighter. The hugs are tighter.

Tampa International Airport expects to see about 725,000 travelers during the 12 days around Thanksgiving. That’s a lot of people with a lot of different stories. There’s no place like TPA to get a reminder of what the holiday is all about.

Lorelei Spataro lives in Tampa and came to the airport to pick up her son, Nicholas. He goes to school in Arizona.

“We have three kids. Having him home, just makes everything complete,” Spataro said.

Around the main terminal, there were moments that could make you cry, but in the best possible way.

A large family held an American flag and “welcome” balloons. After a journey from Cuba, Derek Gonzalez was ready for his family to again be whole.

“Many weeks of trying to bring my stepfamily to the states, and thank goodness, before Thanksgiving. That’s a blessing in itself,” said Gonzalez. “We’re just all so happy… I’m still shaking right now. Just a blessing. Thank God, thank everything.”

Matt Cassidy said he was thankful for his family, “most of all, my mother who’s 91 and my daughter and my grandson. We have four generations for Thanksgiving.”

For those simply getting to enjoy a Thanksgiving sunset in Florida, that’s a blessing all by itself.

At the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Travelers also made their way through to reunite with loved ones on this Thanksgiving holiday too.

“We’ve got about 22 people for Thanksgiving this year,” Wayne Falk of Las Vegas, said. “It’s my brother’s birthday, and Thanksgiving so we’ve got all our family coming out. There’s nothing more important than family.”

Thanksgiving travelers tell heartwarming stories of gratitude

Tad Tenney and his family came together at Harry Reid airport to celebrate the homecoming of his daughter, whom they hadn’t seen in two years.

“My daughter is coming home from her Mormon mission, after two years in Argentina,” Tad said. “The timing was just lucky, the day before Thanksgiving so we’ve got a lot to be thankful for today. We actually have my whole family here for the first time in a few years,” Tad expressed. “I’ve got six kids and so we are all here to meet her as she comes off the plane.”

Taylor Tenney described the importance of family in her life and what it was like to finally reunite after serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“This last year I spent teaching people how important the family is, how important it is to be able to have the closeness, to have this support,” Taylor said. “Now I get to come and spend this with my family and they’re the most important people to me.”

Taylor said she is looking forward to making dinner with her family and watching sports.

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