Christmas Peace

I arrived at the SDF airport bright and early on Christmas Eve.  My 9:10am Continental flight was right on time.  It was luckily a straight shot from Louisville to Houston!

Like usual, it was a small plane.  One seat on one side, two seats on the other.  My seat was 7A.  Right across from me were two cute little girls that giggled in their seat. They directed their attention up to their mother who was sitting at the very front in row 1A.  I thought for a second if I wanted to have the Christmas spirit and let the mother have my seat.  But, I hate the front row since I would have no access to my carryon. I thought about it as the plane finished loading.

One seat in front of me (6A) a woman talked to her husband in 5A.  He was rather tall and was hoping to possibly sit in the front seat for more room.  As I heard their conversation, I leaned forward and divulged my plan… “Excuse me, I overheard you all talking.  I was going to switch places with the lady upfront so that she could sit next to her kids.  However, I really don’t want that front seat.  How about if I take your seat (5A), you can take her seat (1A) and she can have my seat next to her kids?”  He thought this was a perfect idea – Merry Christmas – so I walked up to the front of the plane.

I approached the mother and said, “Excuse me Ms., I wanted to see if you wanted to switch me places.”  She said, “What’s wrong?  Are they misbehaving?”  I said, “No, I was sitting across from them and was offering to let you sit closer to them.”  This mother wasted no time with her response “OH NO! I’m perfectly fine up here!”  And that was the end of the conversation.

I walked back to 7A and the girls told me they were 8 year old twins.  They said they usually get along. I let them know that they better get along for our flight.  They giggled some more.  They then pointed to the back of the plane and said “and our dad is sitting back there!”

I guess we all need different types of Christmas peace.  It was probably a major blessing for both the mother and the father to have 2 1/2 hours of peace and quiet to themselves.  Not all gifts cost hundreds of dollars or even have to be wrapped.  Sometimes it’s just a simple gesture that makes the world of a difference!

M.Y.  December 2009