When a mother took her teething toddler out for a meal, a waitress’ kindness gave them both a sense of peace.
Jessica Ibarra’s 18-month-old son, Dominic, was teething, being “fussy” and having a generally tough day. The pain of when various teeth come in for a child can cause irritability, excessive crying and night waking, and Dominic was feeling the brunt of it.
Jessica thought that giving Dominic a soft pancake might help him feel better, so she brought him to Cafe Republic in Fort Worth, Texas, to get one.
“Tried to take my baby to breakfast this morning, at Cafe Republic Fort Worth, Texas,” Jessica shared. “He is teething, so I thought a pancake might make him feel better.”
While at the restaurant, Dominic was still feeling irritated and tried to climb around to different tables in the restaurant.
“He was being super fussy, and trying to climb all over the place. I was really stressed about him bothering other guests, so I was going to ask for the bill without touching my food.”
Jessica thought that packing up their food and going back home was the best idea since she didn’t want to bother any of the other customers, but as she was getting ready to leave without having had a single bite, her server, Laura Zaku, stopped by her table.
“Started to try to pack up and hurry out,” Jessica wrote. “Our server walked up, and asked if she could help. (I thought she meant help me box up my food.) Instead, she (asked permission), picked him up and said ‘I will hold him, so you can feed yourself. Eat, mama. I know you probably never get the chance to. I’ve been there!'”
Laura picked up Dominic and comforted him in her arms for 5 to 10 minutes, where he “melted”, and Jessica was able to relax and eat her meal.
“He melted in her arms, and stopped fussing. I got to eat for a few minutes without wrestling a toddler. Can’t explain how much that meant to me. Servers are incredible. Moms are incredible. It takes a village. ?”
When later interviewed on why she helped Jessica and Dominic that day, Laura shared that she’s also a mom and knows what it’s like to have difficult days.
“I’m here to help relieve you so you can eat,” Laura recalled saying. “I said, ‘I’ve been there, I’m a mom myself, we’ve got this. We’re going to do this. You’re going to eat and I’m going to hold him.'”
“It’s just the mother in me.”
Thousands of hearts have appreciated what Laura did for Dominic and for Jessica.
“Thank you for sharing! We used to live by that restaurant. I have an autistic son and they were always very kind to us with all of our sounds and commotion that we sometimes make ?” Missi K. wrote.
“This waitress is a Queen. God Bless all of you for taking a breath, finding a good way to help each other,” commented Lisa S.
“?❤️ I love this. Not in toddler years yet but I have a 4.5 month old who can be very fussy sometimes. I only recently learned it takes a village,” shared Raven A.
“When I suddenly became a single mother of two with a third on the way I took a serving job as I’d been a homemaker for the better part of 8 years. That job was the most amazing connection to other moms who just wanted a moment to enjoy hot food. I can’t tell you how many babies, toddlers and even bigger kids I helped entertain so mom got 5 minutes to herself. As much as I helped them, they in return helped me. I survived and supported my kids on my sole income for almost 2 years. People sometimes asked me when I was going to get a “real job”. Let me just tell you, serving is the realest job you’ll ever have ❤️ After a decade in the industry I’m proud to see my daughter take her first restaurant job at 16 and continue the tradition!!!” wrote Abbey M.
“What a sweet lady! One of God’s Angels on earth. There are more out there than you think,” wrote Bonnie D.
You are Loved.
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