A toddler couldn’t hide her emotions when she was reunited with her military dad after eight months apart.
Lola Dowdy, aged two, was a lot smaller when her dad Dawson Dowdy of the United States Navy last saw her.
Dawson, from Virginia, had spent the previous eight months on deployment overseas, which was extremely tough according to his wife, Emily, because of the time difference.
So ahead of him retuning home, Lola was extremely excited, and as she waited at the naval station airport while each person came through the doors on March 19 her anticipation grew.
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Then, when her father came into the room and lifted her up for a long-awaited hug, the moment got too much for the youngster – looking into her father’s eyes, she welled up with tears of joy.
Emily said: “Lola had waited for almost two hours for him at the airport with me, and every time a different person would come through the doors she would hope it was him.
“Finally, when she saw him she was so excited – there were tears of joy.
“I was so excited to see my husband after so long, but seeing how my daughter reacted just made me realize how excited she was, which made me so happy.
“I started crying as soon as I saw her reaction because you can just see in her eyes how much she loves her daddy.
“Eight months is a long time to be away from anyone, much less a parent.
“Seeing my daughter react the way she did made me realize she truly understands the meaning of love, and that was such a great feeling.”
