A TAES kindergartner had a very special visitor last week — her father, who the day before returned from serving his country
Matilyn Jacob got to go home early from school last Thursday, but the Tracy Area Elementary School kindergartner wasn’t sick.
As a matter of fact, the little one felt better than ever after seeing her father, Nate, for the first time since last summer.
As Matilyn and her young classmates were learning everything they need to know about the importance of oral hygiene from their teacher, Ms. Monson, Nate and his wife, Kala, and son, Hunter, made their way to the hallway right outside Monson’s classroom door.
Then the door opened, and in walked Nate, in full dress and holding a small stuffed animal for his little girl.
A surprised Matilyn sprung up from her spot on the floor and rushed around the desks to get to her dad and complete the unexpected reunion with a very long-overdue embrace.
“It’s great to see family again,” Nate said, as sixth-graders heading to another classroom strolled by, some thanking him for his service. “It’s definitely difficult when you’re just seeing them over Facetime. It’s not the same. Definitely a lot of emotions.”
Nate had been far away from home serving his country in his first deployment as a member of Alpha Battery 151 for the U.S. Army in the Middle East. And while the two got to see each other via Facetime, you can’t hug a loved one over a computer screen.
NATE JACOB happily lifts his daughter, Matilyn, after the two were reunited last week.
Nate, a 2007 graduate of Tracy Area High School, actually returned home for the first time since last summer on Feb. 11. So how didn’t his daughter see him until Thursday in Ms. Monson’s kindergarten classroom? How did this huge surprise stay under wraps?
“This was incredibly lastminute,” said Kala. “It was decided some point that when he got home at midnight he was going to crash in the fish house, so we could save our surprise for the morning. We waited until she got onto the bus, so we wouldn’t ruin her surprise.”
Spending a night in the fish house was worth it for Nate, and not really much an adjustment.
“It’s something I’m familiar with,” he said. “We didn’t want to ruin the surprise for either Hunter or Madilyn.
Kala confessed she had told her daughter that she really had no idea how long it would take to finally see dad again. And having Nate in the fish house wasn’t as easy to deal with for her as it was for Nate. “It was almost like a nightbefore- you-get-married kind of feeling,” she said. “I kept looking out the window — ‘is he in there yet?’ It’s like, ‘all I want to do is go see that guy!’” Not only did Nate get to see his wife and kids again, he also got to lay eyes on the family’s new house for the first time. But it’s safe to say, seeing his wife, and kids and being able to spend this Valentine’s Day with them meant a little bit more.
