I’m not sure you realize the magnitude of your actions. You see, we were all very excited for our first real family vacation. We were off to Disney World, every child (and parent’s) dream trip. Things didn’t go exactly as planned. In fact, things went the exact opposite of anything I could have ever planned.

Our first flight was cancelled at 9pm on the eve of the trip, long after the kids had gone to bed with dreams of mouse ears in their heads. My wife and I struggled with the notion of how to tell them the trip would have to wait another day. Luckily, we managed to get another flight out of town very early in the morning.

The kids woke this morning with an excitement I have never seen and may never see again. “DISNEY, DISNEY!!” they shouted as they doled out thousands of pirouetting hugs. This, is the reason we get into this game called parenting. Those smiles, that love of the magical unknown.

It only took five minutes after we arrived at the airport to be told that our flights were overbooked and we were getting bumped. I pointed to the kids and muttered, “but, Disney”, to the woman, who shrugged and apologized. We avoided disappointment the first time but it seemed inevitable at this point. Then out of nowhere, another agent called us over with good news. A NEW flight for us to try our luck with. Relief.

We got on the plane and hit our connecting city. Success! One flight to go until the magic begins and nothing could go wrong. I excitedly printed the boarding passes to our final destination and noticed that we were all spread out in different seats. No problem, the airline will help us out, right? Wrong. The airline said that I would have to figure it out on my own which meant that I had to grovel with passengers, who were probably as exhausted as I was, to see if they would switch with me. It was more uncomfortable than anything I have ever done in my life.

That’s where you come in. I had a 1 in 4 shot at finding a match and I was 0 for 3. I’m not going to lie, even though I understand that nobody owed me anything, I was baffled at how the others could stare at my crying child, who was petrified to sit alone, and not bat an eye as they rejected my offer. But not you. I could tell that you booked your aisle seat on purpose and I know that you really didn’t want to move but you did it anyway, without hesitation. I just hope you can understand how agonizing it was for me to have to ask you to take my middle seat and also how deeply I appreciate your act of kindness.

I have nothing to offer you except words and a wish for all the best things that life can throw your way. You made a disastrous day a million times better and I will never forget that for as long as I live. You are an amazing human being and my whole family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. If you read this and want some Mickey Mouse ears, please email me, as it’s the least I can do!