Recently, I flew on Southwest Airlines and was reminded to treat others how I want to be treated. I bought the select seating, which allowed me to board early. I was the first person on the plane. It's open seating, so you select your seat. I got my favorite spot second row, aisle seat. Life was good.

The plane was full when a woman and her 5 year old son came on. There were no two seats together so the crew made an announcement asking for 2 people to switch seats. No one volunteered.

Myself and the man in the aisle across from me said we would move if that would help. The little boy really wanted to be right next to mom, so they announced again, they walked the aisle and no one volunteered. So she took my seat and her son took the other seat across the aisle, teary eyed. She was very grateful, since it was better than 5 rows apart. She told me and the other passenger, "you are so nice." I said, "I have a 7 year old and would appreciate it of someone to do that for me."

Again, treat others how you want to be treated. The funny part is, I paid extra for my favorite seat and yet I gladly went to the second to last row to help a fellow mom. Why? Because I hope someone else would do it for me one day. As I walked to the back it was cool how many families said that was nice. The amazing part was how many people didn't volunteer, adult couples that could have separated for the 3 hour flight, but didn't. I can tell you confidently, that Phil and I would have separated in a heartbeat, so a mom and son could be next to each other. I think too many people only think of themselves and not how they would feel in any given situation.

So, how can you be nice? You can start by being aware of other people's needs. Be open to change and inconvenience. I had to laugh that I was on a flight with about 160 people, I spent more money to be in the good seats, yet only me and one other passenger offered our seats to help someone else. In the end, I sat next to a super nice couple who were vacationing in Florida and wanted advice on restaurants and more. We had fun and they said, "we are so glad you sat here, I said me too!

Treating others how you want to be treated is nice.

Be nice!