As parents, it’s our jobs to ensure that our children are made to feel comfortable, happy, safe and, above all else, loved.
As our babies grow older, that’s not always an easy thing to achieve. After all, they develop into their own person: they have their own will; make their own decisions; follow their own path in life.
But that doesn’t mean we ever stop trying.
Sometimes it’s the simple things that are enough. Take, for example, just being there for a phone call when our son or daughter calls. Then there are grander gestures, like lending money for the down payment on a first house.
The point is, the day we become a mom or dad, we sign on the dotted line of an unwritten contract that promises we’ll be there forever.
One dad, Hal Vaughan, knows this all too well …
Every year, Hal Vaughan joins his daughter, who works as a flight attendant, on multiple trips she has to work as a flight attendant over the holiday. This year, they will get to enjoy Christmas at ground level. https://t.co/FOhgYwKnlG
— FOX 5 Atlanta (@FOX5Atlanta) December 10, 2022
As per reports, Pierce Vaughan was working as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines back in December of 2019. Sadly, she wasn’t able to secure any time off at all over the holiday season, and was scheduled to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on Delta Airlines flights around the globe.
She rightly expected to have to forego spending time with family as she soared through the skies. Clearly, she forgot the type of man her dad is.
According to Little Things, Hal Vaughan took an incredible six flights in a row over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, syncing the flights up so that he’d be on every plane his daughter was working on.
On one of Hal’s flights, he was seated near fellow passenger Mike Levy. The two soon got chatting, and when Hal explained his situation – and in doing so shed some light on his wonderful fatherly gesture – Mike was left so touched that he had to write a post on social media.
Mike’s post soon gained traction online, with thousands of people engaging and leaving comments.
“I had the pleasure of sitting next to Hal on my flight back home. His daughter Pierce was our flight attendant who had to work over Christmas,” Mike captioned the photo on Facebook.
“Hal decided he would spend the holiday with her. So, he is flying on each of her flights today and tomorrow around the country to spend time with his daughter for Christmas. What a fantastic father! Wish you both a very Merry Christmas!”
We can’t imagine the prospect of flying six times in two days, let alone on Christmas. Yet at the same time, Hal knew that his thoughtful act would make his daughter’s shifts far easier.
“Dad’s first trip using his benefits was a success!” Pierce wrote.
“A special thanks to all of the patient, wonderful gate agents around the country and my perfect crew. He made it on every flight and even got first class RSW-DTW (Christmas miracle).”
After it came to their attention, Delta Airlines released a statement on the story:
“We appreciate all of our employees for working during the holidays to serve Delta customers, and love seeing this awesome Dad having the chance to spend Christmas with his daughter — even while crisscrossing the country at 30,000 feet.”
This story simply touched my heart in the warmest of ways. As a father myself, I know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to put a smile on the faces of my children.
What do you think to Hal’s compassionate act? Let us know in the comments box.
Meanwhile, share this article on Facebook if you, too, want to praise Hal and think that more people should learn of his story.
