'Exhausted mom' speaks out after airport photo goes viral

ILLINOIS -- A photo posted online meant to shame a mom at an airport went viral.

The photo shows Molly Lensing looking at her cellphone, while her infant rests on a blanket on the airport floor.

The caption from the judgmental person who snapped and posted the photo reads: "Albert Einstein said, 'I fear the day that technology will take on our humanity ... the world will be populated by a generation of idiots."

A year later, the Illinois mom of three says the image continues to haunt her.

She says the photo was taken without her permission, and that there is a story behind it.

Lensing said she had spent more than 20 hours sitting in airports trying to get home, with her then-2-month-old in tow.

At the very moment the photo was taken, she said the baby was stretching while she was communicating with all of the family members wondering where they were.

She said the photo violated her privacy, and she feared it would jeopardize her job as a pediatric nurse, which thankfully it didn't.

She encourages people not to create a viral moment out of someone's imperfections.

Her advice after dealing with the ordeal is to lean into those who know the real you.

Click here for more stories and videos about family.