You recognized that I needed you even when I was too frightened to ask. I didn’t know when I would return, but I was flying back to my hometown to say farewell to my dying father. This was a one-way trip for an unknown period of time. You had no idea that I had two little kids (ages 3 and 2) left behind as I sat with my 7-month-old twins. You were unaware that I was saying goodbye to one member of my family while leaving another behind.

But even while we were all three crying, you stepped in. During the flight, my twins started sobbing uncontrollably. We had already taken a long time-consuming flight from Washington to Minneapolis. After the excursion, all of us were quite worn out. My twins were not having it because our regularly strict regimen at home was completely thrown out the window on this particular day. To what end, though? They had just turned 7 months old. Halfway through the flight, everything just went apart because they were feeding off of my frantic energy.

My feeble attempt to quell their screams was met with what I thought to be the entire plane rolling its eyes. Everyone was within their rights to be annoyed. None of you knew that one of my twins screamed nonstop every day throughout the day. She was one of those infants who was never comfortable or satisfied. I was accustomed to ignoring her screams, and I’m sure I did the same thing when the entire plane was carrying us. In all honesty, all I wanted to do was stand in the hallway and beg people to come and assist me if they were sick of hearing people cry. They both needed to breastfeed, and I knew that was one of the primary reasons they were going nuts, but I had no idea how to do it in the middle of an airplane without any cushions to support them. I made bottles for them in advance since I wasn’t even in the right headspace to try to hash out the technicalities.

You took the girl who was bouncing in my lap and sat down in the empty seat next to me. I offered you a ready-made bottle of milk while you held my daughter in your arms and sang her a lullaby while looking her straight in the eyes. I almost felt guilty for not being able to provide the same for my own children, but I was thankful for your kindness at the time. You never let me feel inadequate. Instead, in my lowest moment, you showed the highest level of empathy I’ve ever known. As if you were a part of her family back home, you swayed and sang to her, showing her the kind of love she needed at the time. loving each of us as each of us needed to be loved at the moment.

You might have noticed that I was in a bad mood because I was doing this on my own. I was both emotionally and intellectually spent. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been taking care of those girls alone, much less traveling across the nation with them. I was unable to leave my exclusively breastfed infants at home since I didn’t know how long I would be gone. It felt like a lose-lose situation for all of us, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. The only thing left to do is board the plane with your two children and cross your fingers that the sighs and eye rolls don’t destroy your already low self-esteem.

I’m not sure if we discussed the situation I was in. Funny how words can fade from memory yet the impression someone leaves on you lasts a lifetime. Perhaps an angel spoke to you in a voice that made it clear that you needed to respond. Perhaps your maternal instinct took over when you understood that the wailing babies…belonged to me. Perhaps you noticed how I was struggling and chose to help. Perhaps you simply imagined yourself in my position and provided the assistance you would want. Or perhaps you are just a generous person who lends a hand whenever she feels like it.