Watch: Military mom surprises son at Greendale school after 10 months overseas

 

GREENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- It's Armed Forces Week in Milwaukee and on Thursday, May 13, a local Army officer enjoyed the happiest of reunions.

Staff Sergeant Kristin Dodds dropped in on her son's class in Greendale. The little boy did not know she was coming.

Five-year-old Benjamin may have been a little startled at first to see his mom for the first time in almost a year. 

Staff Sergeant Dodds was stationed in Lithuania and she thought she'd be able to have her family come and visit her while she was there. But thanks to the pandemic, that was impossible.

It only made Thursday's reunion sweeter.

"I've been gone for 10 months, so it's pretty amazing to be home. And you think about it starting a little more than halfway through when you're gone, and to have it actually happen now is pretty surreal," said Sergeant Dodds. 

Some of Dodds' friends from Greendale were also at the school to welcome her home. 

She says the experience left her overwhelmed.