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LOS ANGELES - New parents who were on their way home after adopting an infant girl were surprised with an act of kindness on a Southwest Airlines flight.
Dustin Moore and his wife Caren were headed back to California after adopting their little girl in Colorado on Nov. 9, 2019. They boarded a Southwest Airlines flight where they experienced a moment they would never forget by complete strangers.
“What all of those perfect strangers and attendants did not know was the emotionally tender state of two brand-new parents. Parents who after nine years of trying had been blessed with their first child. Parents who felt scared, but determined in their new role,” he tweeted.
Dustin said midway through their flight, their baby girl woke up and needed a diaper change. After asking a flight attendant named Jenny where they could change her, Jenny took them to the back of the plane where she made a private space for them.
After changing his daughter’s diaper, a passenger complimented their little girl and asked the reason for taking an infant on the plane.
“I gave them the shortened adoption story to which they hastily offered congratulations and shared a few more kind remarks,” Dustin said.
About 10 minutes after that encounter, an attendant named Bobby greeted them with a “warm smile” and asked about their daughter. Dustin said he told the story with a few more details and again was congratulated but did not think more about the encounter.
“Then, we hear the intercom. The attendant Bobby came on and announced a special guest on the flight – our daughter,” Dustin said. “The entire cabin erupted in cheers and applause.”
To add to that sweet moment, Bobby gave passengers pens and napkins so they could write words of advice or encouragement for the new parents.
“We sat in speechless gratitude as people kept peeking over their chairs to congratulate us,” Dustin said.
After the crew gathered up the napkins, Bobby read a few of the crew’s favorites on the intercom. Some suggested drinking lots of wine, making time for dates and enjoying every minute with the little one.
Another round of applause filled the cabin, according to Dustin. Bobby and Jenny then brought the couple the napkins along with pilot wings for their daughter.
He and his wife also learned Bobby and Jenny were married and that someone had done a similar thing for them on their honeymoon flight. Jenny thought the new parents deserved to be given the same act of kindness and filled Bobby in on the plan.
“The outpouring of love from that flight, brought on by the actions of two thoughtfully observant flight attendants – it exceeds my ability to describe what it meant to us,” Dustin said.
At the end of the thread, Dustin shared a photo of a scrapbook he and his wife made filled with all the napkins from the flight.
“I hope you’ll take the time to share what is good. In a world of turmoil, don’t forget to showcase the Bobbys and Jennys – the kind strangers out there. And if they don’t cross your path, be one. Seek good and create it,” Dustin said.