Raising three kids is such a challenge for some parents, just like in the case of Jackie and her husband. After the couple welcomed their third child, they were both proud. However, their relationship got stained with all the stress and pressure. Just as they are looking for a nice place where they can have a relaxing evening out with their kids, another challenge surfaced. When Jackie left the table to go to the restroom, the waitress slipped a note to her husband in front of their kids. Jackie then caught it and weep, but the reason behind this made her trending.
1.Sneak Attack
When she went out of the bathroom to return to their table, Jackie was furious after seeing the note. Their supposed to be relaxing dinner and quality time with their whole family turned out to be tear-filled night. Of course, Jackie would feel betrayed upon seeing what the waitress did, as she gave so much effort in raising their family. Thus, what she saw made her feel rather ill.
2. Tear-jerking Moment
Caught off guard, and holding on her emotions, Jackie tried not to cause a scene. But in her defense, she did do or say something as Jackie could not just sit there and pretend that nothing had happened. To keep it down, she leaned over her husband and forced him to give her the note that the waitress gave him. As she read it, Jackie could not help but cry.
3. Challenge After Challenge
Being a mother is no doubt difficult, and raising three kids will surely be a handful. But the journey of Jackie Johnston-Smith as a mother is nothing compared to the life-changing moment that she has at the little pizza shop in Des Moines, Iowa. Given that she can tackle the hardships of being a mother, nothing had prepared her at the pizza shop incident. Clearly, Jackie was caught off guard.
4. Drama
Who would have the guts to slip a note to someone else’s husband just as soon as the wife left the table? Yes! That’s what the waitress did. Their waitress has the courage to this. But as soon as she read the letter, she could not believe it either.
5. You Don’t Want To Mess With Jackie
Jackie has served some time in the United States Army, and it is easy to assume that she has a tough personality. But she has dedicated herself to raising her children, and the makes them lucky to have a mom that no one would want to mess with. As a mom, Jackie would want all the best for her children, and she will not allow anyone or anything to harm them.
6. War Hero
Knowing that Jackie is a war hero, it could be expected that she would fight for what happened. However, even her husband was shocked by her response. Her though persona was disregarded as she broke down in tears. Crying does not mean she is no longer tough, but it is the least reaction her husband thought of.
7. Giving Herself Extra
Raising a family, Jackie, like any other mom, would constantly feel exhausted, especially she is hands-on in taking care of the kids. However, she would always make sure that she looks nice. Despite feeling tired, Jackie would always put an extra effort into herself. As for her husband also is a very good-looking man. It is quite normal that other girls will be attracted to her husband as he has good looks.
8. Head Turner
Inline, Jackie is fully aware of how other women would look at her husband because, in the first place, she also finds him attractive. Jackie would usually dismiss the thought of another woman staring at her husband. However, it would sometimes be difficult for her, just like the incident with the waitress. She would think that other people would say that the tired mom does not look good with the attractive man.
9. Facing Realities
As years passed by, it could not be avoided that their relationship as husband and wife changes. After giving birth to three children, Jackie felt that she did not appear the same as she once had. Considering her physical and mental stress in raising her family, she felt that her looks drifted apart.
10. Jackie’s Insecurities
Jackie could not avoid feeling insecure and uncertain about her marriage. By all means, she would want to address this with her husband. But a strong woman that she is, Jackie successfully ignored the troubling thought for some time now. However, her insecurities drove back in, in that particular night.
11. Family Date Night
It is no longer easy for Jackie and her husband Tom, to plan a date night. Especially they just had another baby. So, the couple decided that their date night could just wait, and instead, they will take the whole family for a pizza night. Not only would it be convenient, as Jackie will no longer prepare dinner for the family. It is also their way to have quality time as a family and outside of their home.
12. Handling A Newborn In A Public Place
Given say, babies are not comfortable in public places. Inline, as soon as the family arrives at the pizza parlor, their newborn baby started to get fuzzy. Immediately, Jackie could feel people were staring at her as soon as he started to feed her third child. However, all the stares of other people are nothing compared to how the waitress stared at her husband.
13. Jackie Knows Her Way
Becoming a mother, it would somehow easy for you to judge new moms, especially the ones that are at the early stage of entering a new life. But other moms can sometimes have the instinct of teaching new moms, and they are willing to help. As for Jackie’s case, she has already breastfed two kids, and it is a common thing for her to do. But for other people, it seems like it is not ok with them. Thus, Jackie lifted her top to feed her newborn at the restaurant, and so her controversy begins.
14. Proud Mom
Jackie did not stop breastfeeding her child even if she experiences social discomfort and multiple stares. However, it was the staring of the waitress that made her feel more uncomfortable. It made her feel really awkward, to the point that she has to do something about it. Thankfully, Jackie is one tough mom!
15. All Stares
Jackie has already overcome the stage where people would stare at her while feeding her baby. Most of the time, she would just ignore all of it, especially the mumbling and staring of the public. It goes to show, Jackie would do everything for her children and her principles in taking care of them.
16. An Edgy Feeling
When the waitress keeps staring at Jackie, she became more and more uneasy. She was wondering if the waitress had never seen anyone breastfeeding before. Judging by the look of the waitress’s face, Jackie was pretty sure that she was about to do something. But she was also unclear if what it would be.
17. The Note Happened
Jackie got up to go to the bathroom, as soon as she walked away, her husband Tom asked for the bill from their waitress. She then came rushing over their table and slipped the note to Tom. The waitress probably just waited for the perfect timing, where Jackie would leave the table.
18. Weird Feeling
As Jackie is afar, she looked at her husband while reading the note. The expression on her husband’s face while he was reading projected such complex emotion. Jackie then felt a strange emotion overcoming her. It is a feeling that she never felt before.
19. Tom’s Reaction
What made it worst, instead of crumpling up the note and throwing it away, he took out his phone. Jackie could not believe what she saw, as she hoped that Tom would just ignore the phone. Then thought clouded Jackie. She found the situation utterly unbelievable. Jackie thought, “did he just gave her his number?”
20. Was Tom Going To Have A Change Of Heart?
As established above, Jackie has a feeling that Tom was falling out of love with her. Reasons started to swirl in her thoughts. She asked herself, is he tired of the kids and me? As she continues to ponder, a pit in her stomach grew as the event continues to unfold. In front of her eyes, all of these are happening. But the biggest question is how she could stop it?
21. Jealousy Can’t Be Contained
As Jackie witnessed the waitress is sent the note to her husband, she felt destructive anger over her. Her mind is filled with outrageous thoughts. The burning question that swallowed her thoughts is what was written in the letter. It is quite the norm for a wife to jump into conclusion given that she has an attractive husband. Filled with doubts in her head, Jackie easily felt something is not right.
22. Seeking Answers
The worst moment for Jackie is when Tom had taken out his phone right after he read the note. From the view of Jackie, it seems like her husband is saving the phone number of the waitress. Jackie then walked back to the table while composing herself as the kids were there. She then demanded Tom to see the note. As soon as she took hold of it, she started crying.
23. Gut Feel
The waitress was offering Tom a discount on their not so small bill. You might think about how the waitress could tempt a married man. In front of the kids, and immediately after the wife stood up, how could she do that?
24. Controversial Mom
The note initiated that Jackie had chosen to breastfeed her baby in a public place such as this restaurant. Of course, Jackie was at the center of the controversy like this. However, no one has the guts to bring up a topic like this in such an instinctive manner.
25. Being Emotional
All of a sudden, Jackie can no longer hold her emotions. She burst into tears, and she could not believe what she was reading. All of it became a blur as she had never encountered it before. How could a waitress have written a note like this and slipped it to her husband?
26. The Letter That Made Her Weep
As Jackie continued to read the note, tears also continued to stream down her face. Jackie then slides down a little from her seat. She could never have imagined that she would able to encounter a note such as this. However, she found herself to be inspired instead of getting mad.
27. The Viral Letter
Her outright emotions about the incident brought the matter on the internet. Jackie ended up posting the story on social media. She knew that breastfeeding in public areas will always be a continuous issue. It is also a big topic on various social media platforms. But, Jackie’s story is different. She has never imagined the response of the public with regard to her story.
28. The Experience
Jackie initiated her post by telling how she had breastfed her three children in all friendly and unfriendly places. She added that she had breastfed them discretely while there are times that it is out in the open. Jackie also revealed the different types of responses from other people, including all t eh dirty looks and mean stares. Jackie continued on explaining that the incident that happened to her at the pizza parlor has erased the negativity that she felt every time she breastfeeds in public.
29. She Shared Her Thoughts
Jackie’s social media post went into detail about how she has eaten at the restaurant called Fongs. It is where the incident with the waitress happened. She then explained that her baby is fussing, so she had to nurse him for a while at the table before Jackie decided to leave the table prematurely so that she will not disrupt the restaurant’s goers anymore. Jackie then explained how Boni, their waitress, had given her husband the note, and why it really made Jackie so emotional.
30. The Waitress
The waitress that served that family of Jackie and Tom is Bodi. She had a lot of experience being a waitress as she has been doing it for some time. She also had witnessed a couple of times where women breastfeed in public. Bodi had also seen other people staring and gossiping about women who choose to breastfeed their children.
31. The Note
Bodi had not personally experienced the prejudice. But it still breaks her heart that women who choose to breastfeed their child at the dinner table will feel unwelcome. Because Bodi has witnessed other people staring and gossiping over Jackie, she made a move. Bodi had written on the family’s bill, “I bought one of your pizzas… Please thank your wife for breastfeeding!!”
32. Assuming The Worst
Admittedly, Jackie shared that she had really considered that when her husband, Tom, pulled out his phone, she was expecting the worst. Jackie thought that her husband is trying to put the Bodi’s number. Thus, she was just expecting the wrong side of what was going on, as her view is from afar.
33. For Keeps
Little did Jackie know, Tom was just trying to capture the incredible gesture of Bodi and save the photo to his phone. Jackie then decided to do the same, and she was surprised by the outcome. She posted her story, and the note on Facebook and the response of the people were just overwhelming. The public was praising both Bodi and Jackie. What’s more exciting was the story created a move to other people’s hearts, and several notes are coming up as the people were inspired.
34. Taking A Stand On Breastfeeding Awareness
Fortunately, Jackie and Bodi were able to open up the breastfeeding conversation with their story. Together with almost all the breastfeeding moms, Jackie also became tired with all the stare and gossips if she breastfeeds in public. Those negative gestures would really make the mom uncomfortable, and they were just trying to feed their children the way nature intended, and they don’t deserve that feeling.
35. Progress
Bodi proved to Jackie and other breastfeeding moms that they could get support from other people. However, this topic is still not comfortable for others up to now. But Jackie is still hopeful that there will be progress with regards to the issue, and there are people just like Bodi, who is being happily supportive.
36. The Response
It is not the usual thing for moms to receive positive feedback for their choice of breastfeeding their children. Even though it is the most natural and healthy way, some people have not yet welcomed it. On the other hand, Bodi mentioned that she had noticed Jackie breastfeeding, and she got excited that she was doing so.
37. The Stare of Bodi
Now, the question is why Jackie noticed Bodi’s curious stare. Bodi shared that “…I tried not to stare because I didn’t want to seem creepy or make her feel uncomfortable, but I felt like doing jumping jacks!” It turned out that Bodi was really happy to see another mom breastfeeding her child as she knows how healthy it is.
38. Women Supporting Women
At first, Jackie felt speechless and overwhelmed that she did not even go back inside to thank the waitress personally. Jackie was then so captivated and shared that “After dealing with people’s reactions for so long, it was like the universe was giving me a pat on the back.” We could only imagine the stress that breastfeeding moms have feeding their babies yet getting judged by others.
39. Surreal
After Jackie recovered from the surreal incident, she went back to the restaurant and thanked Bodi in person. She let Bodi know how she felt about the gesture made by Bodi. Jackie added that “It is amazing how we women can make each other feel when we empower each other” and “Although I don’t need a pat on the back for feeding my child, it sure felt amazing.”
40. This Family Is Unbreakable
After the incident at the restaurant, and Bodi, it turned out that the relationship between Jackie and Tom grew even stronger. It has been better, and Jackie has been making huge movements on social media with regards to moms and breastfeeding. There is a lot of moms who were inspired and praised by both Jackie and Bodi, as it is overwhelming to find support randomly from a total stranger.
Who would have thought that the small gesture of Bodi can come a long way? It has touched the lives of many, especially the lives of Jackie and her family. Such initiative has done y Bodi has inspired a lot of people, especially the breastfeeding moms out there. Up to now, breastfeeding in public places is not yet acceptable to some. Hence it can create controversy. It is still struggling for moms to feed their babies that natural way, given the judgment of other people. Thankfully, there are some people, such as Bodi, who understood the essence of breastfeeding and supporting nature’s way of feeding children. As for Jackie, she had inspired a lot of moms to fight their right to feed their child, and to ignore the stare of other people.