Setting an Example of Kindness

This post was originally written in July 2018. I updated some titles, wording, and images for clarity, but I kept the meat of the post. Though I’m now a mom and have many more thoughts about traveling with children, I’ve left some of the wording as it is when I first wrote it before I was a mom. This example of kindness still speaks to me today and I hope it speaks to you too.

An Open Letter to the Mom in Aisle 7

Dear Mom in Aisle 7,

Thanks for being you. I thought you did a great job today. I was seated behind you on the flight from Spokane, and I noticed how you interacted with your two beautiful daughters. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to get them ready to go for an on-time departure of 6:15am. I could tell you were tired, but I could also tell how much love you had for your kids. Thank you for treating them the way you did.

Traveling with young kids is a brave thing to do, and I’ve seen other give into the tiredness and feed the chaos instead of calming it. Not you. You handled it beautifully. Even when your youngest daughter became frustrated (I totally understand, I don’t love being cooped up in a buckle either), only kindness came from you. You were calm and collected, and I could tell that she trusted you to take care of her.

I’ve been married just over a year now and I hope to be a mom in a few years myself. Traveling is a fact of life in both my husband’s family and my own, so I’m sure I’ll be in your situation soon enough. Thank you for showing kindness to your children when you could’ve become frustrated. Thank you for being calm and prepared and loving your daughters well. Thank you for setting an example, not only for your daughters, but also for women like me.

Sincerely,
The Woman in Aisle 8

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Setting an Example

I didn’t have a chance to tell this mom how brave she was or how much I appreciated her example, but I hope she has someone in her life to encourage her. And I hope she takes that encouragement to heart. It made my heart (and my face) smile to watch this little family’s interactions. That kind of love for one’s children is a precious thing, and those little girls have a great future ahead of them supported by a mom like that.

“7 Do what is good. Set an example for them in everything. When you teach, be honest and serious.”

Titus 2:7, NIRV

“2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

1 Peter 5:2-3, NIV

I don’t know if this mom was a Christian or not, but her example was a good one and it is worth following. Love and kindness matters, not only for parents interacting with their children, but also for anyone who cares for anyone else.

As a parent, I’m sure there’s hardly a free moment where your actions aren’t being observed by attentive, little eyes. The mom in aisle 7 set an example of kindness. That is what those observant little eyes saw. That is the example she has given them to follow.

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As I teacher, I know that the kids in my class will be watching my every move. They’ll notice if I’m stressed or tired. They’ll notice if I’m frustrated or irritable. But the best job I can do as a teacher, the best way I can attend to the flock in my care, is to set an example of love and care and kindness.

So thank you, Mom in Aisle 7. Thanks for being you. Thank you for setting an example for your daughters and for me.

Yours,

Susannah