An eight-year-old boy who was waiting to meet his newborn sister couldn’t believe his eyes when he came downstairs only to be surprised by his military dad who he hadn’t seen for nine months.
Matthew Herrera had not seen his father, Julian Sanchez, while he had been deployed overseas with the United States Army.
As soon as Julian, a specialist, got the news he could come home to Austin, Texas, he started working on the surprise with Matthew’s mom Amanda and stepmom Chelsey, Julian’s wife.
Three days prior to the surprise, Matthew’s sister Thea had been born, and so Amanda and Chelsey told Matthew he would soon get to meet her.
As Matthew came out of Amanda’s house, and walked down the stairs, excited to meet his new sister he had no idea his dad had snuck around the side of the house and was waiting to surprise him.
When Matthew takes a few more steps Julian then jumps out leaving his son in total shock before the pair emotionally reunite with a big hug.
Everyone present was brought to tears said Chelsey, who captured the moment on video.
She said: “Seeing his reaction brought tears to our eyes, he missed his father so much and was so happy to have him home – it was very emotional and a core memory experience.
Julian added: “The message I would give to fathers around the world is to not be afraid to show emotions, and you don’t have to be this masculine man everyday of your life.
“It’s ok to show emotions to our loved ones, whether if it’s our daughters or our sons, because they need to hear we love them as much as we need to hear it from them.”
Story via T&T Creative Media
