'Protective And Tired' Mother Fires Back At Airplane Passenger Who Scolded Her Son

A passenger aboard a Thanksgiving flight was fed up with a small child and scolded him for kicking their seat, and as a result, got a letter from a "protective and tired" mother.

Jessica Ayers, a contributor to PopSugar, published a letter Wednesday titled "A Letter to the Person Sitting in Front of My Son on the Airplane." In the letter, the mother addressed the "rude, unsympathetic curmudgeon" and asked for a bit of sympathy and understanding.

Ayers recounted the tiring holiday weekend, noting that during the weekend washing dishes was her only time to relax, and asked the disgruntled passenger to try and remember the difficulties of traveling with children.

After lugging around the 34-pound boy and his seven-pound car seat, Ayers was truly looking for a break when she settled into her coach seat aboard her plane ride back home, she said. She commented in her letter that though she was extremely sorry for her son's behavior, it gave the neighboring passenger zero right to do a mother's job.

"I apologize for my son kicking your seat. Traveling can be stressful, and I know that it's annoying," Ayers wrote. "But with all due respect, would you please sit back down and mind your own business? What gave you the right to discipline my 3-year-old son? I am his mother, and I'm pretty sure that's my job."

After thanking the passenger "for adding stress to my already nerve-racking day," Ayers gave a positive shoutout to the woman who was also sitting in the row in front of her son. The mother showed her appreciation to those who showed "kindness and humanity" for turning around an smiling at the child while tickling his feet.

"Going forward in life, I will think of you often and remember how you treated my son," Ayers wrote. "I'll remember that for every crotchety, intolerant person who rolls their eyes, there are also people like you."