Instant Family......Just Add Water

I spent 6 1/2 hours flying across the Atlantic Ocean the other day and did my share of "people watching." Seated in bulk head two isles in front of me was a young woman traveling with her baby and an older man and woman seated next to her. The child was of course beautiful and the mother very skillful in her efforts to soothe and relax the baby on this long flight. I watched her sway, sing, coo, kiss, and hold her sweet child and it brought me gently back to the days when my own daughter was that age. It is no easy task to fly with a baby on your lap. I quickly became apprised through observation that the young woman, the baby, and the older couple were strangers. Within an hour however, I watched the older woman soften to the young travelers next to her. It wasn't long before she was reaching into the diaper bag for the young mother and pulling out bottles and burp cloths. The older gentleman was also shortly taken in by this beautiful mother and child along with his wife. They both took turns holding the baby as the mother visited the bathroom, smiling and talking sweetly to this child as if she were their own. By the end of the flight......they were family. When we landed, I watched them say "Goodbye" and walk away from one another - off to lead their separate lives. I watched the older woman turn wistfully and smile; for 6 1/2 hours while crossing the Atlantic Ocean she was a Grandmother to a child she will most likely never see again, but I suspect a memory was created on all accounts that will be lasting.