My military family of five relies on air travel to get back to Wyoming at Christmas. There are no direct flights. It’s stressful, expensive and usually frustrating to make our way through multiple airports.
A few years ago, I packed smiley face stickers in my daughters’ carry-on bags, hoping to keep them busy on the plane. My oldest, Morgan, found them while we were waiting in a mile-long check-in line and handed them out to everybody who helped us.
By the time we made it through all three airports, she had a whole spiel worked out. “Thank you for helping us go to Wyoming,” she said. “We live here because my dad is in the Army, but we’re going to Grandpa’s house….” Everybody stopped to listen: the check-in agent, the TSA agent, restaurant workers, the woman who changed seats so we could all sit together, flight attendants, rental car clerks. We saw more than a few faces light up.
Now we always pack stickers for our holiday travel to give to the people who help us get home. Thanking them takes only a couple seconds, but watching my children express their gratitude and seeing the appreciation from the people they’re thanking get me in the holiday spirit.
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