#tinytravelingstories

Everything we do is important, everything matters

The flight was landing at ATL and she had a decent layover before her connecting flight boarded. As everyone unbuckled and stood up to grab their bags and leave, she noticed a young mother with a toddler and a baby sitting there waiting until everyone else had gone past her. She made casual conversation with her about the challenges of flying with little ones and learned she was a military wife, traveling to meet her husband, needing to get to her new departure gate but completely unfamiliar with ATL and trying to manage bags and two young children. She volunteered to look up their connecting flight information on her phone app, thinking she’d point the young mom in the direction of her gate and that would be the end of it. Looking at the app she realized that the connecting flight was in a different terminal and would require riding the train to get there. Without hesitation, she said “Don’t worry. I’ll take you there.”

They gathered up all the belongings and headed for the escalator to the train, trailing baggage and babies. The young mom was quietly grateful, still not believing a stranger was actually doing this for her. They rode the train to the right stop, got off, rode up the escalator and walked to the gate. She checked with the gate agent to be sure the app information was correct and that the mom and her babies were in the right place, and they were. It was still around 30 minutes before boarding. They’d made it. She got them settled in, close to the gate, and wished them a smooth and easy rest of the trip. The young woman’s husband was meeting her at this last flight end so all would be well.

She walked away with a heartfelt thank you still echoing. She never saw the young family again, but she remembers them now and then, and thinks about them, and of the serendipity that flows through our lives, and of opportunities, and of what we choose to do with them, and of how we never know the importance in someone’s life of the things we do.

#journalingalife