Dad Books 6 Flights So His Flight Attendant Daughter Won’t Be Alone On Christmas
The holidays are a time for family. There’s nothing quite like celebrating old traditions with the people in your life who matter most. But unfortunately, not everyone gets to be home for the holidays. Sometimes we have to settle for video chatting over great distances or seeing people a few weeks after the holiday has passed. Of course, we’d rather spend the time side by side with them, but we make due.
In an inspirational story about the power of family, one dad decided his daughter shouldn’t have to spend Christmas alone. It’s a lesson in the power of family, and it shows what great lengths we’ll go to in order to be a part of the lives of the people who matter most to us.
High in the sky on Christmas
Lots of us travel on Christmas Day. In fact, there are more flights the week of Christmas than just about any other week of the year—about 45.7 million people fly from December 20 to January 1 each year! And with every plane that takes off and touches down, so does the flight crew. Only instead of leaving the plane to go home to their families, they take off again to help other people get home to theirs.
Hal Vaughan’s daughter Pierce is a flight attendant with delta airlines, and last Christmas was chock full of flight time for her. She had six back-to-back flights and was in the sky for almost the entirety of Christmas Day. But she wasn’t alone! Hal decided to spend Christmas with his daughter, booking six plane tickets—one for each of her flights. Pierce may have traveled across the country on the merriest of holidays, but she had dad along for the ride every mile of the journey!
What’s more? Hal suffered an injury earlier in the year that left him quadriplegic for a time! He recovered enough to be mobile, but boarding and disembarking six different flights in six different airports is a rough obstacle for even the most able-bodied!
Hal and Pierce’s story shows the power of unconditional love. Christmas gives us a chance to show the people we care about how much they mean to us. For Hal, there wasn’t a second thought in buying six plane tickets to be with his daughter on Christmas. It’s worth remembering this year, when we have the pleasure of seeing family we don’t often get to spend time with.
The power of a gesture
Hal and Pierce’s story went viral in 2018 and inspired tens of thousands of others to show their admiration for the flying dad. This year, it’s likely a few more dads will follow Hal’s example and keep their flight attendant daughters company at 30,000 feet this Christmas. More importantly, however, it served to remind others of how precious time spent with family is during the holidays.
If you’re unable to see your relatives and loved ones as much as you want to during the year, use the holidays as an opportunity to capture that time. You don’t have to chart a multi-flight expedition across the country—instead, plan to do something meaningful with them. It might be a heartfelt phone call, a thoughtful gift exchange or even a snowball fight. Whatever it is, cherish the moment.
