A 19-year-old airman sprinted down her family’s driveway the moment she saw her little sister’s school bus pull up — ending a four-month separation that had been tough on both siblings.
Iylani Beltran of McHenry County, Illinois, had been waiting all day on September 24 for nine-year-old Princess to come home from school. The reunion delivered the huge, emotional hug the sisters had been waiting months to share.
The tightknit siblings hadn’t seen each other since Iylani left for U.S. Air Force bootcamp in San Antonio, Texas, followed by two months of tech school in Virginia. During that time, Iylani looked forward to returning home to see Princess and her other siblings — Aliyah, 18, Jordyn, five, and baby Kamryn, who was just one month old and Iylani had never met.
When Iylani completed tech school and learned she could have leave before heading to her final duty station, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
After being collected from Chicago O’Hare Airport, Iylani waited at the family house for the school bus to arrive. As soon as she spotted Princess, she took off running.
Iylani’s bonus mom, Meagan, 35, captured the wholesome moment on video. She then recorded a series of reunions with Iylani’s other siblings, as well as photos of her first meeting with baby Kamryn.
“From the moment she signed up, the anticipation was heavy,” Meagan said. “Each milestone with this journey was harder for us and her siblings than we imagined.”
The separation had been especially difficult for Princess and Jordyn.
“Lani’s little sisters would tell just about anyone they’d speak to about their sister being in the Air Force,” Meagan said.
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Planning the surprise was important to the family. They wanted to preserve the raw emotion of the moment.
“I love documenting special moments with our family, so knowing that she was able to get leave to come home before her next duty station, we knew we were going to surprise everyone,” Meagan said. “We wanted to see their faces – we knew it would be emotional and we’d never get that back.”
