We all know Christmas can be stressful. As parents, that stress only becomes worse when it comes to traveling to see family during the holidays. Every parent knows the hassle of traveling with children, and some unfortunate souls even understand the added challenge of doing so with an infant.
This dad and Imgur user is one of them. But thanks to the kindness of one stranger, a beautiful story came from the otherwise hectic experience.
On Sunday, after weather in Chicago threw a glitch into his travel plans, this dad was having an awful day.
It was his 8-month-old’s second flight ever, and according to the dad, his little man was doing pretty well. That is—until he decided he wanted to go see the neighbor in the window seat.
At first, the father tried to comfort his young son and prevent him from crawling all over the stranger sitting next to him. But of course, the woman didn’t mind it one bit.
“After brief introductions and him fighting me trying to crawl over to her, she opens her arms and says ‘oh just give him to me!’”
It turns out that the kind woman was all it took.
“He (and I, exhausted) willingly oblige to the strangers request. Not 60 seconds later he puts his head down on her chest and falls asleep!”
That wasn’t even the best part! As soon as the baby fell asleep, she looked over to the dad and jokingly exclaimed, “The power of boobies!”.
She then proceeded to tell the dad that if he wanted to take a quick nap, she would hold the child so he could catch up on some sleep.
“After multiple cancellations and layovers I selfishly agreed to give her watch over my precious child so that I could catch a quick cat nap.”
The experience was a healthy reminder that despite a lot of the junk we hear in the news, there are still very good people in the world.
“The kindness of this stranger was truly refreshing on what was quickly becoming one of the worst days in a long time. There is still hope!”
The inspiring post from a grateful father quickly went viral, receiving over 120,000 views on Imgur in just 24 hours.
It truly takes a village to raise a child. Sometimes that village is made up of close friends and family. Other times, it’s simply a stranger soaking up some baby cuddles so that dad can take a quick nap.
