It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one. We often form attachments to things or people that make us happy since we are social beings. So saying goodbye to those we love is like to severing our connection to the happiness that comes from being in their presence. Whenever we say farewell to someone, whether it be for a cause like moving to a different state or country, going off to college, changing occupations, or reporting for military duty, there are usually sniffles and tears involved. Farewells are made much more difficult by the fear that the people bidding farewell may never see each other again.
On the flip side, most people look forward to being reunited with loved ones. Depending on the society, a treasured individual may even be greeted with a feast and drinks, drumming, dancing, singing, or other activities. When people who have been apart for a while see each other again and spend time together, they are naturally joyful. This was the situation a mother in the armed forces encountered with her three-year-old child, who was overjoyed to see mom after a long period away.
The small youngster broke the rules to run into his mother’s arms because he was so happy to see her again. Cooper Waldvogel was excited to see his mother and her colleagues, who were returning home with his grandmother and other military families. His mother, Kathryn Waldvogel, 25, of Chisholm, was assigned to the National Guard’s 114th Transportation Company and spent nine months stationed in Afghanistan.
Photographer captured the sweet conversation. Subsequently, on September 17, 2014, USA Today posted a teaser of the film on YouTube, to the delight of its audience. Go on reading for the details.
Cooper was not the only one who was excited. His mother, too, was missing her son.
Kathryn Waldvogel said, “All I could think about was how much I wanted to hold him.”
Despite this, Kathryn figured she would have to wait for a while because her first sergeant had told her and the other soldiers to report to the auditorium. There, they would be let go without having an opportunity to see family members.
“We had to file into the building and get into formation all of a sudden, and I look up, and my mom and Cooper are right there,” Kathryn said. “He appeared to be in awe of me as he kept smiling.”
Cooper decided that staring at his mother would not do and he raced across the room to see her. Kathryn grabbed him up and gave him a tight hug. The video was posted on USA Today’s YouTube channel on September 17, 2014, and it quickly received a ton of likes and comments.
Kathryn liked reading the comments once she found the video.
She looked through the entries and said, “This one.” “That was definitely the most humble, tear-jerking 26 seconds I’ve seen in a long time.”
She went on, “It’s so great, it melts my heart.”
Cooper, on the other hand, has some experience waiting for people he loves. The young boy was holding out for his father, a military man, to come home from Afghanistan.
Cooper’s father, Adam Waldvogel, 26, said, “He kind of did the same thing for me.”
Due to their competing schedules, Adam and Kathryn were unable to spend a lot of time together. It also meant that Cooper was never far from any of them.
Adam said of his child, “He’s the definition of resiliency, that’s for sure.”
That made it easy to understand why Cooper wanted to play with his parents all day.
