A loving uncle jumps up and down with excitement as his nephew emerges from a gift-wrapped box to keep up their annual tradition of a cross-country visit.
Each summer, Cricket Byrne, 15, from Vail, Colorado, heads to New Jersey to spend time with his cousins and uncle Rusty Cahill, 56, in Medford, New Jersey.
Cricket’s visits have become an annual tradition, the family said, and each year Rusty looks forward to spending time with his nephew who moved to Colorado when he was aged two.
But this year, with the pandemic, and Cricket’s family having plans in Florida, Rusty was informed it didn’t look like Cricket would be able to visit.
That all changed, however, when Rusty’s daughter Kelsey and her mom, Judy, helped arrange a surprise flight for Cricket.
On June 20, a downbeat Rusty headed into the living room of his family home, where he came across a knee-high box covered in wrapping paper.
With Judy and Kelsey filming the moment, Rusty lifted the box as Cricket burst out causing Rusty to let out a loud, “NO WAY” before the pair jumped up and down and embraced.
Little did Rusty know that his son, Jack, was also in on the act, sneaking Cricket into the house ahead of the surprise.
Kelsey said: “I cried a lot as I love seeing my dad happy and I also missed Cricket so much.
“It was such a joyful moment and I’m so glad we got to give that to him – my dad deserves the world and his buddy coming home was one of the highlights of my year.
“I’m so glad I captured it on video because I’m going to cherish that forever.”
Story courtesy of T&T Creative Media
