Yeah, You

"Any chance of letting me recline my seat?" - Guy on the Plane.

Hey you.  Yeah, you.  I know you're not thrilled that you're sitting in front of a couple with a 13 month old on a 10 hour nonstop flight.  I know you wish you were in a quiet, first class seat drinking beer and putting your feet up.  Maybe you don't have kids, maybe you never flew with them, maybe you did and now you don't remember what it was like.

But no, you cannot recline your seat, because my daughter is asleep on my lap, and right now there are four inches between her head and the back of your seat.  It's a small space, but I didn't design this plane.  I'm allowed to have an infant on my lap until she turns two, and there was a $400 price difference in getting her a seat of her own.

Oh, yeah, please definitely complain to the guy sitting next to you that you can't recline your seat.  I am not going to get any sleep on this flight, I can't move my left arm for the next 4 hours, I'm trying to keep my daughter from kicking your seat back and from wailing during the first three hours of the flight.  But I pity your inability to recline, it must cause you so much suffering.

I tell you what, you hold my daughter, then you can recline all you want.

Oh, sure, the stewardess feels very sorry for you when you complain about it to her, too.  Thank God she found you an open seat so I didn't have to hear you complain about not being able to lean back for another six hours.  Cry me a river, jerkface.

All I'm saying is, every small act in a confined space is magnified.  Small kindnesses seem like grand, magnanimous gestures, and thoughtless, selfish acts feel like a punch in the gut.  So be kind on planes, especially to mothers of young children.  We're doing the best we can.

I hope she got cookie on your nice suit, somehow.