An eight-year-old pupil of St. Charles Public Schools was surprised by her mom who returned from an overseas deployment. The emotional reunion between U.S. Army soldier Spc. Ralea Scott and her eight-year-old daughter, Harlem Scott, during the child’s school trip in Louisiana, came as the best Christmas gift for the little girl.
During the school event inside the Lafon Arts Center in Luling, second-grader Harlem was chosen to invite a special guest on stage, only to discover that it was her mother, Ralea, returning from a nine-month deployment in the Middle East.
The emotional reunion, with Ralea in Army fatigues and holding a teddy bear, led to cheers from the entire auditorium filled with Harlem’s classmates at St. Charles Public Schools.
Lisa Perrin, the principal of Allemands Elementary School, expressed deep emotion, stating she couldn’t stop crying after learning that a military mom, Ralea, had given her daughter one thing she prayed for during the holidays, as reported by the New York Post.
Ralea, an Army member since graduating high school in 2013, served as a mechanic in Jordan and Kuwait. She is usually separated from her family for three weeks, but, her recent assignment took her away for nine months.
She recounted that her daughter was often sad anytime they interacted and was eagerly awaiting her return. Despite staying connected through Facetime calls and texts, Ralea revealed that she planned a heartwarming surprise for her daughter, Harlem, timed to occur before a performance by The Lightwire Theater.
Ralea’s mother, Dawn Scott, who had looked after her granddaughter during Ralea’s deployment, was pleasantly surprised when she encountered Ralea back in town. School officials orchestrated a clever ruse, summoning Dawn to the arts center under the pretext that her granddaughter wasn’t feeling well.
To her delight, Dawn was met with the heartwarming sight of Ralea and her granddaughter, Harlem, both wearing broad smiles. Overcome with emotion, Dawn wiped away tears and shared warm embraces with both Ralea and Harlem.
