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The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
Inspired Life


A COUPLE FLEW HOME WITH THEIR ADOPTED INFANT. STRANGERS THREW AN IMPROMPTU BABY
SHOWER ON THE PLANE.

By Allison Klein
February 13, 2020

Caren Moore with her newborn before they boarded a Southwest Airlines flight
home to California. (Dustin Moore)
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It had been nine long years of fertility treatments, miscarriages and adoption
stress, but Dustin and Caren Moore finally were on a flight home with their
adopted baby girl in their arms. They nervously cradled their daughter, who was
just 8 days old.

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Midflight from Colorado to California on Nov. 9, Dustin Moore realized that the
baby needed a diaper change. A Southwest Airlines flight attendant named Jenny
led the couple to a space where they could change their slightly fussy newborn.

“Jenny and another passenger complimented my beautiful daughter and politely
asked what had prompted a flight with such a young infant,” he wrote in a
Twitter thread this week. “I gave them the shortened adoption story, to which
they hastily offered congratulations, and shared a few more kind remarks.”

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Back in their seats, a flight attendant named Bobby approached the Moores,
inquiring about their little girl. When he left, Dustin Moore, 33, and Caren
Moore, 35, looked at each other, confused about the attendant’s interest.

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“Five minutes later, Bobby came on the intercom and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen,
there’s a very special guest on the flight today. She’s only 8 days old and
she’s traveling home with her mom and dad,’ ” Moore said in an interview with
The Washington Post.

The flight attendant announced that he’d be passing out napkins and pens for
anyone who wanted to jot down a message for the new parents. The cabin erupted
into cheers and applause. A steady stream of people came by to coo and
congratulate the couple.



“We had no expectation they would have done something like that,” said Dustin
Moore, his voice cracking. “I get choked up thinking about it.”

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One of the napkins read: “I was adopted 64 years ago. Thank you for giving this
child a loving family to be part of. Us adopted kids need a little extra love.
Congratulations.”

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The crew collected all of the napkins and read a few of them aloud.



After more applause, the flight attendants bundled the 60 napkins and gave them
to the Moores, along with a set of pilot wings. The flight attendants also told
the Moores they themselves are married, and a fellow flight attendant had done
this for them while they were on their honeymoon. They wanted to pay it forward.

“What all of those perfect strangers and attendants did not know, was the
emotionally tender state of two brand-new parents. Parents who after 9 years of
trying had been blessed with their first child. Parents who felt scared, but
determined in their new role,” Dustin Moore wrote on Twitter.

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The Moores, who adopted their baby through an agency, were at the hospital in
Colorado when the birth mother delivered. The adoption process is stressful and
worrisome, Dustin Moore said, which made the celebration on the plane even more
meaningful.

“Adoption is wild with uncertainty,” he said. “You wonder, is this birth mother
going to choose us? What happens if she changes her mind, if she backs out?”



He said he tears up just thinking about the plane ride home because of the
overwhelming support they felt at a time when they were also worried that their
daughter might somehow be stigmatized.

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“For an entire crew of strangers to come together like that, to partake like
that, to show us that kind of love and kindness meant everything to us,” he
said.

When they got home to Buena Park in Orange County, Dustin Moore contacted the
airline to let it know about the gesture. His mother made the napkin notes into
a book so the couple could preserve the advice and good wishes for her
granddaughter.



Southwest Airlines released a statement Wednesday saying, in part, that the crew
showed “kindness and heart” on that flight. “We join in the new parents’ joy and
wish them a lifetime of love and baby snuggles,” the statement said.



Dustin Moore, who is a registered dietitian, is working toward a doctorate in
public health at the University of California at Irvine and is also a graduate
program coordinator at California State University at Long Beach. He said he was
fuming on Sunday about something that happened at work, and considered writing
about it on Twitter. But then he thought better of it.

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“I said to myself, ‘How about pointing out something good?’ ” he said. “I was
tired of going to my Twitter feed and seeing something horrible somebody had
done. I wanted to contribute something uplifting.”

So he wrote about the flight, and people immediately started reacting, many
telling their own adoption story. He said he and his wife were floored by all
the comments, and grateful for the personal moments people shared.

> 15 years ago, my husband and I adopted a beautiful baby girl from China. We
> tried many years to have a biological child. I don't know what it feels like
> to give birth, but I can't imagine loving a child more than I love her! God
> bless your family!
> 
> — Rebecca Veach (@rebecca_veach) February 9, 2020

Moore said their baby, whose name they decided not to share publicly, is
thriving and has completely captivated them.

“It’s just amazing having a daughter,” he said. “All the little details that are
mundane to other people are amazing to us. When she burps, we’re like, ‘What an
accomplishment!’ It was a long, long wait for her, but every minute we had to
wait was worth it.”

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Read more:

Few people know of her daughter’s genetic disorder. A mom is skiing 125 miles
across Norway to change that.

After a woman’s bout with homelessness, she set up pop-up walls to share
kindness and the basic necessities with others in need

A pediatric surgeon becomes an artist after surgery, drawing on bandages to lift
the spirits of young patients

Have a story for Inspired Life? Here’s how to submit.

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