Last week was homecoming at the Cabot Public Schools, but the word “homecoming” meant something completely different for two students and their parents.
Master Sgt. Jeff Wade had been deployed to Qatar for six months, and on Oct. 9, he had a chance to surprise both of his children by showing up at his son’s school at lunchtime and at his daughter’s cheer class that evening.
Masen Wade, Jeff’s son, is a seventh-grader at Cabot Junior High School North. Masen thought he was going to have a normal lunch with friends on Thursday, but that all changed when his father walked up to his table.
“There are no words to describe it,” Masen said later that day. “There was a little thing inside that said he might do it, but I had no idea he’d surprise me.”
Jeff said his reunion with his son was emotional. The two Wade men embraced and may have shed a tear or two while Stephanie Wade, the family matriarch, watched.
The surprise reunions were Stephanie’s idea, Jeff said, and the pair had been planning them for about a week. Jeff arrived home Wednesday, but the kids were told that their mother — a business-education teacher at Cabot High School — had a field trip lined up the next day, and they did not question the story when they stayed at a friend’s house that night.
After getting a chance to hug his dad for the first time in six months, Masen said he was excited to have his dad home and to go hunting with him now that he is back.
“It’s just really cool,” Masen said.
The older brother knew about his dad’s return for several hours before Abigail, a fifth-grader at Cabot Middle School North, got her surprise. Friends and family were able to keep the secret, and Abigail did not know how special cheer practice was going to be.
“It was definitely a dance to orchestrate today,” Jeff said. “It’s so hard to hold out.”
Abigail takes cheer lessons at Cheer City United in Cabot, and she thought the gymnasts were going to help shoot a commercial for the gym. Little did she know, the cameras were for her and her dad.
When Abigail arrived at the gym Thursday evening, she thought she was running late. Her mother had originally told her they needed to arrive at 6 p.m. but then “remembered” it actually started at 5:30.
“We knew if she stopped for one moment, it would be done,” Stephanie said.
Abigail raced into the gym at 5:45, and the rest of the gymnasts were seated and listening to their coaches. Before she got a chance to sit down, Abigail was promptly asked to show the younger gymnasts one of their cheer stunts.
Her coaches hoisted her into the air, and Jeff ran out to take the place of the coach directly behind Abigail. As she came down into his arms, he simply said, “Was that awesome?”
In a split second, Abigail knew it was not her coach who caught her. She turned to face the voice and exclaimed, “Hey, Daddy!”
Similar to the scene at Cabot Junior High North with Masen, the reunion of Jeff and Abigail included plenty of hugs and a few tears. Stephanie and Masen joined the father/daughter duo, and for the first time in six months, the family was reunited.
Abigail — who is a self-proclaimed “Daddy’s Girl” — said she did not expect her dad to be home and at cheer practice, but she thought something was off when she came down from her cheer stunt.
“It felt weird when I felt somebody catching me,” she said, “I was really excited to see my dad.”
After the family was back together, Jeff said he was happy that he had a chance to surprise his children, even if it was hard to stay away as soon as he got in.
“The anxiety was horrible,” he said. “Last night I was drained, but it’s just so awesome to be home.”
Jeff has been overseas on several tours throughout his career with the Air Force, and he said it never gets easier to leave his wife and children behind. The family has had to make it work using FaceTime and Skype to stay in touch while he is overseas, but Abigail said it is just not the same when he is gone.
“It just doesn’t feel correct,” she said.
Fortunately, the Wade family might not have to worry about that anymore. Jeff has hit 20 years of service and has the option of retiring. Stephanie said that, hopefully, it means he will not be going overseas again.
Many people have said that members of our military are heroes because of their sacrifice, but Abigail said Jeff is a hero for a much simpler, intimate reason: “He’s my dad.”
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.