As regular travelers, I think we occasionally think of airports like cable companies and the IRS, which is to say arcane mazes of bureaucracy that get in the way of what we really want to do (i.e. actually travel). That’s not entirely fair. Yes, airports are the places where we have to endure invasive body searches and mile-long security lines. Sure, they test our stamina with long connection paths and harsh fluorescent lighting. It’s not their fault, though. Airports aren’t out to delay you in your quest to get to Omaha. They’re not purposely trying to thwart you with gate changes and flight delays that aren’t always posted on the monitors.

Airports are intricate places that feed off of millions of kilobytes of changing information and it’s time to stop treating them like they’re out to get us. In fact, I think it’s more apt to compare airports to something much better: airports are like our mothers.

Think about it. They do their best to look after our safety. They try to get us to pay attention to important information and attempt to guide us along the way as best they can. They’re the last things we see before we take off and the first thing we see when we land. Airports represent home — just like Mom does.

In an effort to play the role of Mom even more, DFW has unveiled their “Healthy + Happy” campaign. That means all 150+ dining outlets are offering at least one option that qualifies as healthy (low-calorie, low-fat, low-sodium, cholesterol-free, plant-based, or high-in-fiber), including steel-cut oatmeal bowls at Cereality, vegetable-laden stir fries at Ling & Louie’s, and veggie wraps at East Side Mario’s. In addition, they’re giving away free fruit every Tuesday in February. Stop by the fruit stands in all five of their terminals for your free banana/apple/whatever as you go about your traveling business. It’s exactly what Mom would want.

More info here.