Picking The Right Flights
Choosing a flight in and of itself is tricky enough. Passengers have to watch the prices shift and figure out the most economical decision. How much luggage can we carry? How long do we need to get to the airport to get through the lines at security? Are we going to make the connecting flight?
Source: TODAY/YouTube
These worries can even apply to short flights. From unforeseen delays to disruption to late arriving passengers, it’s not just the turbulence at 50,000 feet passengers have to worry about today.
The Journey Home Didn’t Go According To Plan
Mackenzie Murphy was heading home by air. She had booked a 45-minute flight back to her home state. She arrived at the airport in a timely manner and checked through security without a single issue.
Source: Lavanguardia
Beside her was a new mother of twins. She had gone through the same process, all the while making sure that her twin babies were happy and safe. Everything should have been smooth sailing—or flying. But before the craft even took off, she was in for a bumpy ride.
Dealing With Baggage Issues
When there isn’t room for all the passengers to store their carry-ons, the staff sometimes take large items upon boarding to store in the cargo hold. This can be slightly inconvenient. But for the new mother of two and all the other passengers, this is where the trouble began.
Source: Alamy
As she settled in, it was obvious that the aircraft was completely packed. The staff had taken one of the mother’s items before she made her way onto the plane, but the mother had thought nothing of it.
Buckling In For The Journey
While Mackenzie and the other passengers would have to do without their laptops or books for 45 minutes, the item that the staff took from the new mother would cause so much more havoc than she could ever have realized. As Mackenzie fastened her seatbelt, she watched the babies.
Source: Tumblr
They looked no more than six months old—happy, curious babes. Their mother had them in her arms while trying to fasten herself in. Strangely, there was an empty seat next to her, even after all the other passengers had been seated.
Noticing A Problem While In Line
Mackenzie had been just behind the mother in line at the gate. She had seen the gate staff decide to store baggage in the hold. This mother had been carrying one of the twins in a car seat when they asked her to hand it over to have it stored below.
Source: Yuweng
The poor woman would have to hold the two babies in her lap for the flight. It wouldn’t be very comfortable, but like all mothers, she was used to pulling off multi-tasking miracles for her children.
The Flight Attendant Passed By—There Was A Problem
And so, here this mother was, sitting with her two children and waiting for the plane to take off. But when a flight attendant passed by, Mackenzie knew there was going to be trouble. This mother had bought a ticket for herself and one of the twins and a seat for the other.
Source: Flickr
But since the staff had taken her car seat, she wouldn’t be able to fasten the baby in. But the flight attendant told her, “You can’t hold both in your arms—you’ll have to exit the aircraft.”
The Flight Attendant's Demand
As you might expect, Mackenzie was shocked. The mother couldn’t believe it. She argued that she had bought the seat next to her, but the staff wouldn’t have it. It wasn’t about the seat, they said. It was about the two babies both sitting on her lap.
Source: Pulitzercenter
The staff repeated the demand once again: get off the plane. The mother simply couldn’t believe it. She looked around in intense horror at all the other passengers on the plane who had suddenly taken notice of the confused argument.
The New Mother Was Shocked
The flight attendant hit a brick wall and decided to speak to another member of staff. The mother was visibly shaken by what had just happened. It wasn’t as though she would just be able to get off and wait for another flight. Why were they doing this to her?
Source: Tumblr
She just kept rocking her babies, hoping that the staff would see sense and let her stay on the flight. The flight wouldn’t even take an hour, after all! Surely they would make an exception just this once? But no.
Then Came The Delays—Mackenzie Had To Step In
The flight was delayed. An hour passed by. Then another. The passengers were getting frustrated, and the flight attendants were becoming more hostile. Finally, Mackenzie watched as another woman who had been sitting in front of her stood up.
Source: Reddit
She couldn’t bear to see this young mother get thrown off the flight just for safety concerns—after the staff themselves had caused the issue in the first place. She announced that she would take one of the babies. The team conferred among themselves before relenting to the proposition.
Keeping Both Twins Happy
Mackenzie recalled how the poor mother had been forced to hold onto the twins for two and a half hours until this stranger finally stepped in. The flight was supposed to be a fraction of that time, and yet the flight attendants had delayed the whole trip because of their own mistake.
Source: MIKI Yoshihito/Wikimedia commons
To help out, once the plane finally took off where it had been standing on the tarmac for 150 minutes, Mackenzie watched this kind woman feed and burp the boy to keep him happy.
A Helping Hand Goes A Long Way
If this stranger had not intervened, who knows what would have happened to the young mother and her babies? It’s hard to believe that the flight staff didn’t understand the challenges that come with flying with children—especially two young children who haven’t even learned how to hold up their heads.
Source: Zevandavidson
This kind woman even had problems of her own—as her little girl started to cry in the seat next to her—but she didn’t let it get in the way of helping out. That’s one heck of a good neighbor!
Her Own Daughter Was Starting To Cry
According to Mackenzie, this woman kept helping the baby even as her own daughter was crying next to her. She soothed her by explaining that their job in this world is to “help other people” and that “this mom is all by herself” with “no help.”
Source: Tumblr
It seems that after that, the little girl let the thought sink in. She was quiet the rest of the way. The baby boy in the stranger’s arms, too, slept softly in her arms as she sang songs and cooed him to sleep.
The Kindness Of A Stranger Saved The Day
This act of kindness, and the words she had given to her daughter, stuck with Mackenzie long after the plane touched down and she left the airport. The act seemed significant to her. The kind stranger made no kind of fuss or lay any judgment for being put in the position.
Source: Dcpeopleandeventsof2017/Wikimedia commons
She simply took it upon herself to help another person in need. And by doing so, she put some much-needed love into the world. The next day, after some much-needed rest, she booted up her laptop.
Sharing The Story Online
Mackenzie wanted to share news of what she had seen. She logged into Facebook and began writing a post in the Love What Matters group. She had been inspired by many tales of strangers helping strangers and felt it was the perfect place to share what she had seen that day.
Source: Pexels
She wrote, “supposed-to-be easy day of travel turned into an incredibly long day of travel home.” Then, after detailing what she saw, she added, “[It] restored my faith in humanity.” Sometimes, an act of kindness is all it takes.
Mackenzie’s Account Touched Many People
Her story got a lot of traction as many people empathized with the poor mother of twins. Their hearts melted over the kindness of the stranger and her daughter. In fact, the story has now been shared over 7,000 times and has a gigantic reaction count of 100,000 people.
Source: Toptoc
That’s a lot of hearts warmed. It’s nice to see a story about genuine human kindness go viral once in a while. The kind act that this woman provided deserves a spotlight. As her story spreads, so does love.
Comment Picks From Mackenzie’s Account
As people on the internet tend to do, they gave their opinions of the story that day. Some of them were pretty sweet. Here’s a little example of how the story impacted their mood that day. This one is from Sherri Haaland, another user of the Love What Matters page.
Source: Pexels
Perhaps thinking of the words the woman shared with her daughter, Sherri wrote, “There are Angels everywhere—we just don’t see them,” finally adding, “because they aren’t looking for rewards.” Isn’t that just the truth?
Sherri Shares Her Story
Sherri wrote heartwarmingly, “The mommy of the twins was blessed to have met an Angel.” While commenting on the words that the helping stranger shared with her daughter, Sherri added, “[she] truly taught her child a valuable lesson.”
Source: Yuri Samoilov - Wikimedia commons
Another poster named Sally Yoder chimed in with a story of her own—a bad experience involving air travel—saying, “When my son was around eight months old, he was a handful.” Similarly, she encountered a kind stranger who helped without having any qualms about doing so.
Another Stranger Steps In To Save The Day
Here’s another story of an angel who decided to take a plane to work that day. Sally recounted a time when a flight attendant stopped her from taking her purse, large video camera bag, and diaper bag onto the plane at once. The attendant told her that they had a policy of two-bags-max.
Source: MPKN20 - Wikimedia commons
Thankfully, a kind stranger behind her with only one carry-on offered to take one of her items to keep under her seat. She said, “[It was] a small act of kindness, but so appreciated.
All The Angels In Our Midst
Mackenzie picked up on Sally’s story and left a comment, saying, “My heart still feels fuzzy.” It’s easy to see why! In both cases, a small act really helped to make a big difference. It seems that mothers put in so much unseen work—it’s nice to see someone finally recognize their sacrifices.
Source: Alamy
Mackenzie capped off the whole story in the perfect way. She said on the Facebook page, “Moral of the story? When you see people needing help, do the right thing: help them.” Maybe then we’ll see more angels.