When Air Force Master Sgt. Teresa Black heard she was finally coming home from deployment, she knew she wanted to plan a surprise for her son.
Black and her 21-year-old son, Ryder, are extremely close. Whenever things get hard, Ryder knows he always has his mom, and she would always be the first person he goes too.
So when she was deployed to the Middle East for eight months, it was really difficult for him to be away from her, especially since this was the longest the pair had ever been apart.
Before she came home, Black arranged a secret homecoming for her son, with her husband’s help. They all went to their favorite restaurant, and while Ryder thought something was up, he had no idea that his mom would be showing up there.
While the family was posing for a photo, Black walked out of the kitchen holding a plate of food, pretending to be a waitress. “Who ordered okra?” she asked. As soon as Ryder heard her voice, he immediately knew it was her. He ran at her full-speed and gave her the biggest bear hug.
“It was such a sigh of relief to know that she was finally home,” Ryder told USA Today. “Being so far away and not being able to know very much, it was rough.”
Ryder says not having her there was the hardest eight months of his life, but thankfully the two are back together and will now be making up for lost time.
“There are two times in my life when I’ve held my son – the day he was born and that day,” Black said. “And neither one did I want to let him go.”
Watch their emotional reunion in the video below: