When the heaviness of difficulties flood in, it’s a good idea to recall some of the better moments in the not-so-distant past. In doing so, the ugly seems to be dispelled, hope is renewed, and you gain just enough strength to get past the now and on to the next good.

In February and March, J and I travelled to Canada-home for a three-week rest. The idea of traveling with our 8-month old was daunting but I knew the time home would outweigh the short difficulties (or potential difficulties) of doing the 22hour travel to and 35hour travel back. Although I had moments of confidence, the few hours before check-in at the airport was when my doubt and fear took root. So, as we do, we left it in the care of Someone greater than us.

With all my anxiety fixed in one place, J and I took on our trek home and some of these great moments happened along the way.

• Flight #1
  • While getting ready to pre-board because I had a baby (yay for me), not only did I get a chance to board early, the men & women in business/first class let me board before them.
  • A lady who was boarding with the first/business class ran up behind me and took all of my luggage and carried it to the plane for me (including closing up the stroller for me)
  • The flight attendants cared for everything once on the flight; accessing anything I needed, going above and beyond to make J & me comfortable, checking in throughout the flight, bringing extra of anything needed, and so on.
  • The two people next to us in the bulk head? An English Grandma and Grandpa who had just spent a couple of months with their family who lives in Australia.
• Between Flight #1&2
  • While exiting the first 13 hours flight, the flight attendants helped get all my things to our stroller, helped me arrange everything, and kindly let me on my way.
  • A customer rep from that airline (who was meeting other passengers), watched me organize myself and asked if I could wait for a few minutes. She returned with a special Fast Track Pass which allowed us to go through each and every line quickly and before anyone else.
  • While these lines were full of business people and the wealthy, each line (three all together) had individuals who would let me move ahead of them, load my carry-on and hand baggage on the belts, and help me get organized.
  • Each security check we had friendly people who kept Jesse entertained while we made sure all was secure and gathered again.
• Flight #2
  • Again while boarding, the airline workers helped me get everything to the plane, settled away, stroller stored, and so on without my asking for help.
  • While aboard our flight home, I was given a seat which had no other passengers so Jesse and I could have as much space as possible.
  • One flight attendant stayed with a sleeping J so that I could go to the bathroom and take care of me for a few moments.
  • Again, while leaving the 6 hour flight, I didn’t have to carry anything other than J to the stroller.

All of these happenings were just on the way getting there. There is a whole other blog worth of cool moments on the return home as well. And even in this reminder blog I didn’t talk about the kind words from strangers about how awesome my kid was or the gentle people who stopped to say hello to J or try to make him giggle. Neither did I talk about the people who wished us safe travels because we were brave to do this together….And I’ve not touched on the people who showed kindness to Husband while he was back in our newest home.

There is good in this world. There are great people in the world. There are golden moments that make life worth the struggle during the uglier days. Sometimes, we just need to remember.