The Kindness of Strangers

At the end of last week, I took a quick trip to visit some family members who live out of state. My husband took off work to stay with the older kids and I took Cameron with me.

Due to traffic control problems, my return flight was delayed for almost four hours. All of the passengers on my flight were in really good moods when we finally boarded the plane at 10:30pm. The trio sitting directly behind me served as notable exceptions to the rule. They were all in exceptionally good spirits, due in large part to the extraordinary number of alcoholic spirits they had consumed at the airport bar earlier that evening.

Cameron fell asleep shortly after takeoff only to be jolted awake a few minutes later by a round of obnoxious laughter bellowing from the back seat.

One of the rioters was using her toothbrush to comb her neighbor's hair.

If that's not funny, I don't know what is.

Cameron woke up from his nap fussy...and with a fever. I was rustling around for supplies in the diaper bag when he threw up all over himself, me, and the empty seat next to us.

A pattern is developing.

The Good News: The sight of so much vomit silenced the revelers.
The Bad News: There were 2 1/2 hours left in the flight

I dealt with the unfortunate circumstances by locking myself and the baby in the airplane lavatory. And cried.

I emerged from the lavatory with a whimpering infant and eighteen paper towels stuffed down my shirt.

When I returned to my seat, I found the woman who had been sitting in the middle seat in the row across from me wiping down my seat and personal effects. The sight of a complete stranger elbow deep in my son's vomit made me cry harder.

Without a word or a wrinkled nose or a rolled eye or a long sigh or a snippy comment or a piece of helpful advice, the woman cleaned up the mess and returned to her seat, where she proceeded to pick up her novel and read it as if nothing had happened.

I have had plenty of interactions with strangers that I hope that someday I will forget.

This I hope I will always remember.