A 10-year-old immediately burst into tears of joy when her mom, who she hadn’t seen in 10 months, surprised her dressed as the Easter Bunny.
For almost a year, Zariah and her single mom, Autumn Bachner, 28, from Washington State, had been apart as Autumn spent time relocating her family’s life across the country to Florida.
She and Zariah are originally from Washington State, but having moved to Texas in 2017, the pair then returned in 2022 to be around family and friends once more.
As money became tight, though, Autumn made the tough decision to move to Florida, where her money, she said, would go a lot further.
Autumn’s father wasn’t ready to say goodbye to his granddaughter, and with Zariah at an important time in her schooling, Autumn made her second tough decision: she would set up life in Florida and work as much as possible while Zariah stayed in Washington with her grandpa.
The following months were extremely difficult, as she hated being apart from Zariah and worked as much as possible, living in a single-room house to save for a bigger place she could furnish.
This transition took longer than expected, with the stresses and strains of being a single mom away from her daughter also having an impact on her mental health.
When everything looked more settled, though, Autumn decided she needed to plan a surprise reunion for her daughter.
She opted to return to Washington around April Fool’s Day, as that is Zariah’s birthday, and Autumn is always playing pranks on her at that time.
With the day coinciding with Easter, Autumn decided to don an Easter Bunny costume – and having been collected from the airport, on March 31, she headed to her father’s house.
Zariah was encouraged to come outside, and having initially greeted her daughter in the character of the Easter Bunny, Autumn removed the head for the big surprise.
The moment was stunned by Zariah, who was completely shocked. The 10-year-old immediately burst into tears as she laid eyes on her mother.
Later that day, the pair went on an Easter egg hunt before celebrating Zariah’s birthday the following day.
Autumn said: “It was more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt, seeing her face when she realized it was me.
“Nothing compares – I hardly have words to describe it, but it was the best feeling ever that she was so happy to see me.
“Everyone cries when they watch it, they say they can feel the love in the video and that’s what I wanted to share with everyone – just the love.
“Moms: never give up, work on your mental health for your kids.
“Take whatever steps you feel is right to give your kids the life they deserve.
“Not everybody will always understand; they will judge but don’t let that stop you.
“Being a single mom is a huge battle and everyone fights it differently.”
