A high school cheerleader was brought to tears of joy when her soldier mom emerged from inside her school’s mascot’s costume for an emotional reunion.
Alissa Guzman, a Chief Warrant Officer with the U.S. Army, shares a close bond with her daughter, Harmonee, 17, but admitted her most-recent deployment to the Middle East was extremely tough.
For 22 years, single mom Alissa, originally from San Antonio, Texas, had been on active duty, and so when her children became older, she found it tougher and tougher to be apart from them.
Alissa and Harmonee’s bond became a lot stronger when they experienced the pandemic overseas, away from friends and family.
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And so, after four months in the Middle East and planning to retire next year after more than two decades of service, Alissa decided she wanted to do something special for her daughter on her return.
She reached out to Harmonee’s cheer coach at Woodbridge High School in Virginia, who said she loved the idea of a surprise and said Alissa could hide in the school’s Vking costume ahead of the big reveal.
Alissa loved the idea, so she planned the surprise and arrived at nearby Gainesville High School, where Woodbridge was the visiting team.
Working with Harmonee’s two brothers, Alissa met up with staff from Woodbridge and secretly got into the school’s mascot costume in the parking lot while Harmonee was away with her cheer team.
After posing for a photo with the cheer team on the track, Alissa then moved to the side and removed the mascot’s head as an announcement played over the stadium speakers.
Harmonee didn’t quite fully hear the announcement, but when she turned to the side and spotted her mom coming toward her, she immediately burst into tears and headed over for a long-awaited hug.
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Alissa said: “She nearly knocked me over – it all happened so fast, but I remember the moment I saw her, I never wanted to leave again.
“The joy and happiness in her tears made all this worth it and my heart was full.
“Life is hard, and as parents, guardians, caretakers, we all have to make sacrifices and make hard choices.
“We just have to figure out the ones that are worth it.
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“I deployed in service of my country, and as a service member it’s important to fulfill our duties and our obligations.
“My children have learned these hard lessons from a very early age – especially as I am a single mom – so we understand the importance of family and how extremely short life is.
“We capitalize on moments and appreciate every day we have each other in our lives.”