Sometimes the simplest sentence takes us back to basics.
Dani Bennington, 35, shared a video in September of her husband’s playful memory as they took deep breaths and braced themselves for one of parenthood’s biggest challenges: flying with young children.
The video – taken as they prepared to head home to Dallas, Texas, from California’s Long Beach Airport after a trip to Disneyland – shows Jake Bennington, 34, standing with their three children (Harper, 6, Brooks, 4, and Hazel, 2) as they wait to board.
“Okay, same team, same team. Same team. No matter what happens, same team,” Jake Bennington says as he reaches for Dani Bennington’s hands, slaps them and tells her, “It’s getting hairy in there.”
The exhaustion of two parents preparing their children for a long flight is palpable. But in that brief moment, their connection becomes apparent.
“Every time we go on a trip with our wild group of kids, he says this,” Danni Bennington captioned the video.
As of this story’s publication, Dani Bennington’s post has received more than 594,000 likes, nearly 16 million views and is chock-full of more than a thousand comments.
“We’re shocked, completely, completely shocked,” Jake Bennington tells TODAY.com about how the video is resonating online. “It seems completely random that this all happened. It’s like a 12-second video wasn’t intended at all.”
For the couple, the phrase “same team” has more meaning than just traveling and childhood tantrums. The phrase has been a cornerstone of their relationship for years, dating back to when they first tried to start a family.
“We struggled with infertility for years, and it was very difficult, and it can feel very isolating,” Jake Bennington explains. “That can be very personal, especially for the mother, but for both people, and it is very important to show solidarity with that.”
Their journey and eventual successes with IVF have brought them closer together as a couple, and the phrase is one they encounter too often in parenting.
“No matter how good it is, no matter how well behaved the kids are, it’s still a lot of work and it’s so easy to lose yourself in it,” Jake Bennington explains. “(You) go from one need to the next to the next, and you’re putting yourself and your needs out of the picture. So it’s really important to say (to your partner), ‘Hey, I’m with you. Lean depends on me. ”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
