Gratitude.

It was a simple squeeze of the arm. Then a peck on the cheek to say thank you. And then a grimace and flicker of the eyes. Dark circles underneath those bleak eyes. But some light still emanated from between the pupils, despite the blood shot look.

She walked off the aircraft with a heavy burden on her shoulders. How would she cope without her mother?

I had the pleasure of meeting an absolute lady yesterday.

I got her life story in a matter of thirty seconds.

She was so close to crying when she came onboard. Borderline about to collapse. A cane supported her.

A kind word and eye contact from another human kept her going. Then an empathetic ear helped too.

And simple help with her bag. That is pretty much all I did. I made her flight a little easier on her. Gave her space and assistance. She appreciated it. She didn't watch any movies or TV shows - she was too distracted.

Halfway through the flight I went down to her seat. She was crying. But it wasn't sobbing. She didn't know what to do next.

Her Mum was 90 when she died.

I didn't know how to help her best. But the simple task of making sure a passenger is okay during a flight made the world of difference to her - she truly appreciated the measure of seeing IF she was okay.

That's where I love my job.

The pressure of the simple squeeze.

The intimacy of the peck on the cheek.

The eye contact with another member of the human race that you've known you've made a difference to.

The eyes tell everything.

Job well done.