Even when we are confident that our loved ones are contributing to a cause that transcends all of us, being separated from them is never an easy or pleasant experience.
Since her mother, Army Sgt. Tamie Norris, has been away for the past 11 months, Samantha Norris has missed her every day. During those months, Tamie was stationed overseas in Iraq and Jordan, a significant distance from his family’s home in Austin, Texas. The Army mother decided to surprise her daughter Samantha at her place of employment after her daughter was brought home from deployment earlier than expected. Samantha’s reaction was just adorable.
The Harmony School of Innovation in Austin is a public charter school, and Samantha is currently teaching first grade there. Since this is her first experience in the teaching profession, she was eager to discuss everything with her mother. They had talked on doing some decorating together for Samantha’s classroom before Tamie left for deployment, but it never ended up happening.
A video of the significant event shows that Samantha’s mouth dropped open in shock as her mum, who was dressed in camouflage, entered her classroom without prior warning. As Tamie held her in a tight embrace, tears immediately began to well up in her eyes.
Samantha shared that as her children realized what was going on, they were filled with joy. “Of course,” she added. They have always had a great deal of interest in her, so the opportunity to finally meet her and try on some of her equipment was a real treat.
Not only did Tamie think to bring a box of doughnuts for the students as a sweet treat during the surprise visit, which was a win for the students in and of itself, but she also thought to bring a box of donuts. After that, she gave everyone the opportunity to try on various pieces of her army gear before beginning the story time.
Samantha remarked that she thought it was a beautiful example of female power to have a strong woman serving in the military. One of the female students even confided to me that she aspires to have a career “exactly like Ms. Norris’ mom when she gets up!”
After some time had passed, Samantha uploaded a video and several photographs of her mother’s visit to Instagram, where the post quickly gained widespread attention.
She captioned one of her photos with the following: “11 months too long without giving my mum a hug the best surprise, welcome home!!!”
Watch the video below to see how sweet Samantha is when she sees her mom at work, and don’t forget to share it with your friends.