A Spill, Some Steam, and a Lesson in Togetherness
I’m at the Washington D.C. airport, headed home after a packed few days—training new coaches, facilitating a workshop for a law firm, and pouring out everything I had. Your boy is spent. And just when I thought I had nothing left to give, the Heavens gave me something instead.
I noticed an older couple, probably in their late sixties or early seventies. A really sweet duo.
He was rocking a pair of New Balance 1906s—I respect the shoe game.
His wife brought him a cup of coffee, and in an unexpected slip, it spilled all over both of them. It was hot. Really hot. You could see steam rising off their hands.But what caught my attention wasn’t the mess. It was how they responded to it.
They both stood up quickly. There was no blame. They didn’t get angry. I couldn’t even sense any embarrassment in them. Just presence. Just care for one another.
They checked in on each other—not the spill, not the people watching, but each other.
I walked over to make sure they were okay.
“That coffee looked pretty hot, but you two kept your cool,” I said.
(My attempt at a dad joke—don’t think he caught it.)
The husband smiled and replied, “When you’re old, your reflexes aren’t as fast.”
No defensiveness. Just honesty and grace.
The wife stepped away, came back with paper towels, and apologized more than once.
And he just looked at her and said, “That’s okay. It was just an accident. We’re figuring it out together.”
We’re figuring it out together.
That line hasn’t left me. Two people navigating a small crisis—choosing connection over correction, presence over perfection. And in the middle of a noisy airport, I got a quiet reminder:
True relationship isn’t found in avoiding the mess.
It’s found in how we move through it.
Together.