A Maxatawny Township preschooler received a big surprise at her school, a visit from her father who has been away on deployment.
Erik Sperber, United States Air Force personnel, arrived home Oct. 8 after five months of active duty in South Korea to be reunited with his family. He and his wife Stacy organized the visit to surprise their daughter Lily, almost age 5, at her preschool, The Early Learning Community in Kutztown. Erik was the “mystery story reader” for the entire class and the last person Lily expected to see.
As Erik walked into the room, there was a moment of silence before Lily shouted, “Daddy!” and ran into her father’s arms. “I missed you Daddy!” as she hugged and kissed him.
Then after a minute or so, they turned to smile for the cameras, while Lily continued to hug him. She didn’t let go of her Daddy the entire visit. Lily introduced her Daddy to her class and shared what family is to her. “Family is love,” she said.
“I’m overjoyed,” said Erik. “After five months of not being able to hold my kids and my wife, and to be able to surprise both of my daughters…”
When asked how she felt, Lily said she is happy. She was looking forward to building with Legos with her Daddy.
His wife Stacy, holding their youngest daughter Abbey, 3, said,”I’m really excited and relieved that he’s here, even if it is only for three weeks.”
The surprise, Stacy said, was fun, and she was grateful for everyone’s involvement to help make it happen.
“It’s been hard some days… I have to just make it through and put on a happy Mom face on, and make it best for them, which is important to me,” said Stacy, crediting family support for helping her cope with his deployment. They moved out of their North Dakota home and into her parents’ home in Maxatawny when Erik was deployed.
A quality insurance inspector for the U.S. Air Force, Erik was deployed to South Korea for five months and returns in three weeks. Some of the things he missed while deployed include living in a house, home cooked meals and being around his children and wife.
“We’re a team,” he said about his wife and taking care of their daughters. “It’s good to be home, even if it’s only for three weeks.”
Both Erik and Stacy are Kutztown High School alumnae. Stacy attended elementary school in the same building as Lily’s preschool, which is housed in the former Maxatawny Elementary School. “I took her photo out front where I had my picture taken.”
“I love it here (at the ELC). It’s like a family,” she said.
Lisa Hunter, director and teacher of The ELC, was glad to be part of the surprise. “We were excited to have him come in.”
Hunter said they looked into what military families experience and how the children are dealing with so many different emotions at the same time.
“I’m glad we did it. It’s great for the kids to see, it’s great for Lily to share her Dad with us,” said Hunter. “We were glad to be able to help this family and to be a part of her family.”
While Erik’s surprise visit was meant to be as a mystery story reader, amongst the excitement the celebration became more like a party, with party hats and snacks, and he did not get a chance to read.
As the Sperber family headed out the door for home, Lily’s classmate, Joey, age 5, said, “Thanks for the great party!”
