I don't know how many frantic phone calls you field every night. I don't know how many of those come from mommies who are too far away from their kids to help them. I don't know how many times you have to calm them the heck down and tell them not to worry because you've got this. I don't know if this was old hat to you or a first. All I know is, you handled it like a rock star.
My kid was stranded the other night at the airport with a flight cancelled due to snow, which you already know because we talked about it on the phone while we became best friends. She'd flown to Seattle from Oregon on her way back to college in Hawaii, but, after waiting inside the airport 6 hours and another 3 hours sitting on the plane, the flight was cancelled, the passengers returned to the gate, and she was stuck. Tired from a long day of travel and delays, and stuck.
Now, yes. My kid is 18 and a half, so technically an adult. But she's a BRAND NEW adult — a baby adult — and, perhaps more importantly, her mommy is new to having an adult, so we're just learning the ropes around here. She could have handled herself. She would have done fine. But she was traveling alone for the first time, and it was snowing buckets outside, and the next flight wasn't leaving 'til morning, so MOMMY TO THE RESCUE, right?? Except I couldn't really rescue her. I could only try to find a place for her to sleep while she navigated the rest on her own.
I booked her a room at the Crowne Plaza.
We usually stay at a different hotel at the Seattle airport. One with crumbling asphalt in the parking lot and a very long, bent chain link fence. They serve horrible coffee with powdered creamer, and the carpets are stained, but the rooms are clean and cheap, and, frankly, that's all we usually look for in a hotel.
But I booked her a room at the Crowne Plaza. The price was $50 more than we usually spend, but I wanted a place that made her feel safe. I wanted a place that made me feel safe. A clean room, not as cheap, but safe. I assume this is what people talk about when they say they have "standards." Ours are usually lower than other people's, but this time, no. Crowne Plaza it was.
I called you after I made the booking because I know hotels don't usually allow 18-year-olds to book rooms, and I needed to make sure you'd let her check in. It was 11:00pm, dark with flurries furiously falling, and Abby was making her way to the hotel shuttles. She was texting me every minute to ask if she was in the right place. To ask if I was sure.
Listen, Tomicka. When my kid was tiny, we had one rule if she got lost. I drilled it into her over and over.
"If you get lost, what do you do?" I'd ask. "FIND A MOMMY," she'd reply.
Find a mommy. That was our rule. Because I knew, if my little lost one wandered up to a mommy with a stroller, or a mommy handing out goldfish crackers at a park, or a mommy pushing a kid on a swing, and said "I am lost," the mommy would protect her. The mommy would help her find her way back to me. Oh sure, the mommy's reaction after that could go either way — she might be amazingly sympathetic and pat me on the back and say "there, there" while I cried out the adrenaline of losing my kid, or she might be mean and ask me what kind of a mother I am, anyway to lose my child like this? — but I knew she would keep my kids safe before that reaction. And that's all I needed to know. One rule: Find a Mommy.
That's when I said I love you and that you're my best friend forever.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post misspelled Tomicka's name as Tanika (as can still be seen in text photos).
Abby Encouragement I'm an enormous idiot. Yeah but are we there yet?
Thank you, Tomika. You are a gift to the world, and to all the lost children.
Great Job Tanika! You delivered exceptional Hospitality!
Crowne Plaza forever!! And Tomika, too!
Teary eyed at work (post office) but it's so perfect. Look for a mommy, yep, we will always be there for you.
And, just like that. I'm sitting at my desk at work, blubbering and crying because of Mommies. Wasn't expecting that, Beth, but oh my god, my heart. Love this. SO much.
My husband and I were just discussing our 7 year old and concluded that if she ever got lost, chances are pretty good that she'd be able to resourcefully navigate her way to find us or someone who could find us. (The 4 year old would be gone forever, but we're pretty confident that her new family would love her just as much).
There's something wrong with me. I am crying. I think you made my stress leak out of my eyes.
Make sure Tomicka reads this. Make sure her manager reads this. Make sure the damn corporate office of the Crowne Plaza reads this. She deserves recognition for outstanding care. The older our kids get, the bigger the village–thank God for that!
They have. 🙂 Thanks, Michelle.
A big shout out to all the mommies out the helping other people's babies.
Okay, good, it's not just me who cries.
My baby adult son was once stranded in the airport in Atlanta. His flight from Dayton was delayed. He was seated next to another baby adult who happened to be a bikini model. He had zero concerns. He arrived in Atlanta too late for a flight to Charleston. The wonderful people at the Atlanta airport made arrangements for him to spend a complimentary night in a nearby hotel. I was frantic. He was just disappointed that the bikini model was able to get her connecting flight to Florida.
HAHAHAHAHA! Best story ever. Thanks, Kimberly.
Yes, I needed this. A reminder in the good in humans. Cheers to this!
So glad you and your adultling (my brother-in-law's name for those new adults we hatch) had Tanika to take such good care of her.
This! So many times THIS! The Tanika's of the world breathe life and love into everyday human experience. Thankful Abbey had this as her first stranded alone experience.
So glad I am not the only one completely teared up. Love this as a Mommy and the baby adult I was in a similar stranded traveler situation.
My BFF is undergoing cancer treatment, getting ready for bone marrow transplant, and her mom died. We flew to Des Moines, got in about 10pm after a week in the hosp and long flight. Front desk people, a Days Inn, Mr & Mrs Patel, could not have been nicer to us, always said hello, called us by name, did we need anything? As I was still on eastern time, I'd sit in the lobby early early morning and trade kid stories! It's so wonderful to know that in this crazy screwed up world we are living in, some people are just nice because they're mommies or daddies. Thank you to Tanika and all the helpful mommies out there.
Faith in humanity restores today!
I am glad to see I am not the only one tearing up over here!
I hope Tanika reads this along with her manager and the uppity ups of the Crown Plaza company! There IS good in the world.
Oh man, you just made me all weepy. Tanika, YOU are a shining light! I always told my kid to find a mommy, too. (And I laughed a bit over the "not sure about a mommy's reaction afterward"). But this is us–an army of mommys looking out for each other's kids. This is how it should be. And good for you, Beth, both for amping up to battle to the death for your baby adult, and also for backing down and trusting when a fellow mommy got your back.
Oh, my.. you made me cry. I know the feeling of relying on the kindness of strangers on the phone to help one of my baby adults out in a crisis.
Tears, just tears. This is beautiful, and I always told my kids to find a Mommy too. You are amazing to share this and give hope. Thank you Tanika, Mommy peeps gotta stick together.