David Diebold couldn't help but be a little disappointed during his graduation ceremony. There was a huge something missing — his mother. The teen understood that it wasn't her fault. Mom was deployed in Afghanistan serving her country for five months. Still, it hurt.
As Diebold stood on stage to receive his diploma, something bizarre began to happen. There were two ferns on stage that began to rustle. Then, he heard it over the loud speaker. It was his mother's name, Army Colonel. Karen Burmeister. Suddenly, behind the ferns, there she was. Diebold's mother had planned on making the trip all along.
"I just felt the rush of emotion, just all the baggage of being without her," Diebold said. He wasn't kidding about that rush of emotion either!
"When I hugged David he was really wet from tears," Burmeister said. Even her husband didn't know.
"The fern's kinda split on stage and she popped out, and my only reaction was ‘oh my gosh,'" said her husband, Army Col. CJ Diebold. "I was just standing there dumbfounded."
CJ and his son have had a difficult time adjusting while Mom was away. Completing their daily routines, something as simple as waking up at 5 a.m. and heading to work and school, became a hurdle. Fortunately, both CJ and Karen plan on retiring form the military next year.
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