It’s summertime and flying during Covid can be stressful. I flew a few weeks ago. As I took to my seat, I ripped open the wipe that the flight attendant handed us as we boarded the plane. I diligently wiped down the arm rest, table top, and video screen. Call me paranoid but I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry.
During this time of year, flights to and from Hawaii are often filled with a lot more families with small children. Flying with children is always a challenge. It’s understandable that kids don’t like to be confined to a small space and locked into their seats. I don’t like it either! Well, who does, right? On top of that, their nap schedules are disrupted and they’re often tired. Furthermore, they’re more likely to suffer from the air pressure and get ear aches. No wonder they’re miserable on planes. I would cry too.
During the flight, a child behind my seat started to cry. Her father walked the child up and down the aisle and she stopped crying. “Good job dad,” I thought. Then, he sat down again. And the crying started up again. I don’t know why, but he never got up again. She cried for a very long time. I felt bad for those trying to sleep.
I then remembered a time when I was on an overnight flight. I wanted to go to the bathroom. I heard a child crying in the bathroom and I waited patiently. But no one came out of this bathroom for the longest time. So I knocked. The door opened. A man carrying a boy who looked about four years old came out. He said “go ahead, use the bathroom.”
He was still there when I came out. So, I asked if the child was okay.
“Yeah, he’s okay. My job requires me to live abroad, so our family has to fly to go see our respective families. But, my son hates flying. And he tends to cry the whole flight.”
He told me that they’ve tried many things to try and ease their son’s pain and control his tears. But nothing seemed to work. His best solution was to lock himself and their son in the bathroom so as not to bother anyone.
He said he felt so bad for the other passengers because it was an overnight flight. This meant that this Dad locked himself and the child in the bathroom for the whole flight, that was eight hours!
What a kind man and father, I thought. He’s caring for his child who was in pain. And he also cared about the rest of us passengers who may be affected by his child’s crying. What a considerate guy! Being considerate of others is a wonderful trait. I have a feeling the son and father had a wonderful bond. To all the wonderful father’s out there, thank you.
photo: Photo by Szilvia Basso on Unsplash
