After her husband was deployed, this mum wanted to bring her child to be with family for company.
The 5,000 mile journey was a cause for serious anxiety for the mum who was worried about the effect it would have on her toddler.
Posting about her experience on Facebook, the mum said:
“My biggest apprehension was making such a long trip. With a toddle. By myself.
“I had such anxiety about her airborne tantrums. Once before, I had a very rude man tell me to: ‘Shut that child up before I do’, when my very tired infant would not stop crying.”
On edge in the build up to the flight, the mum was very thorough in her efforts to avoid an outburst from her daughter.
But as we all know, there is nothing we can do that will be 100% effective as this mum soon learned.
“But it escalated.
“Hysterical crying. My heart raced as I tried to ignore any irritated stares and eye rolls and focused on soothing her.”
It was what happened next though that made us smile.
“The man sitting next to us did something I didn’t expect. He told me with a smile ‘You’re doing great, mum’”.
He then suggested the pair swap seats so he could sit next to her daughter to which this mum agreed.
“He pulled out his iPad to show her pictures of his grandchildren.
“He opened a game and showed her how to play it. He talked with me about his life and asked me about mine.
“He helped occupy my daughter and soothed her when she fussed. He was so patient and loving.
“Before I knew it, the six-hour flight was coming to an end.”
Touched by what this stranger had done for her and her daughter, this mum posted her praise on Facebook after telling her family about his generosity.
“I explained to my mum with tears in my eyes what this man had done for us.”
“He gracefully sacrificed his time and energy to help a distressed mother and child.”
“It was the kindness of a stranger that got us through that day and I will always be thankful for him.”
The post has received a huge reaction with many commenting on how this type of gesture can mean the world to an anxious parent.
You can read the full post here.
