Awesome stranger at the airport

So me & Blayne flew down to Florida a couple of weeks ago for Jordan's graduation (yay!) and then we went to the beach for a week and then flew back to Atlanta. I was a little nervous about flying with Blayne because I didn't want him to be one of those terrible toddlers driving everyone else on the plane crazy and I didn't know how I was going to keep him entertained in a small space for an hour and a half. But (thanks to Sean's video ipod) he was wonderful and quiet and did awesome. Here's the thing though, when people see you coming towards a gate or terminal with a toddler most of them give you a look. I don't know how to describe it, it's sort of a mixture of fear and annoyance mixed with a little bit of "why are you out in public with that thing much less flying with it?!?" After that they attempt to avoid eye contact altogether. Anyone who's ever flown with a baby or small child has probably gotten "the look." For me though, that look doesn't really make me want to keep my kid extra good so he doesn't annoy you. Contrary to popular belief, I'm probably more worried about how my kid is gonna behave than the random stranger who may or may not be sitting by me for an hour and a half but when you give me that look it makes me want to kick you in the shins, flick you in the forehead and then sneak a stinky diaper into your carry on. And then it makes me secretly pray that we ARE sitting by you and that my kid will be obnoxious during the ENTIRE FLIGHT - just to drive you crazy!!!! One day some mom is gonna snap in the airport and smack a stranger and we'll all know why. And another thing that bothers me about that look - the person is directing that "eat poo and die" stare at MY BEAUTIFUL SON!! The cutest kid ever!! My smart, funny, adorable kid!! Don't you people know not to ever make a mom think you're insulting her kid?!?!? Geez. But I digress... in the midst of all these looks there was an amazingly nice stranger. A couple in fact but this lady sticks out. We were coming back from Sarasota to Atlanta and I got to the airport like two hours early (thanks mom) so we we're just stuck there and I was trying to keep Blayne happy. The airport was practically empty so I just let him run around and climb on the chairs and do whatever thinking that he'd get all his energy out and then he'd be ok during the flight. It worked btw, he slept for most of it! But as Blayne is running around I got a couple of "looks." Most people were pretty nice though -the Sarasota airport is MUCH nicer than the Atlanta one so I guess people weren't as pissy in general. Then Blayne hears a little crinkle-crinkle-crunch-crunch going on nearby. This kid (probably in high school) has just opened a bag of chex mix or something and Blayne locked in on him. He seems to think that no one should eat alone. So he heads off for this boy (before I can catch) him but then freezes when he realizes that he doesn't actually know this person. But the boy offers Blayne some of HIS OWN snack and then when Blayne gets all shy and won't take it, he actually takes some out and hands it to him!!! Blayne ate it of course. =) A few min later as I'm following him down another row of chairs this lady smiles at him and tries (unsuccessfully) to get him to give her five and then she tells me, "You know, you're a really great mom." Huh??? Me??? She said she was the mom of the nice boy who gave Blayne snacks and she thought it was awesome that I just let him run around and didn't try to keep him all stuck in a seat and that most people were too worried about stuff like that and that it was great that I was letting him have a little fun before the flight. Wow. That totally made my day!! My week even!! Actually, here it is two weeks later and I still think of it every now and then!! Not that I think I'm the greatest mom ever mind you but that this woman would say that to me - that she didn't ask me to keep my kid quiet or sit him down and she didn't give me or Blayne the looky-look either. So thanks, awesome stranger in the Sarasota airport. You'll probably never know how much that meant to me.