Evan Griffin, 8, and Aria Griffin, 6, of Jaffrey got a big surprise during the Thursday morning community meeting at Rindge Memorial School.

Their schoolmates revealed “Welcome Home” signs they made for Evan and Aria’s father, Maj. Mark Griffin, for the family to display on their lawn or around the house when Mark returned from a deployment with the National Guard the next day.

But waiting in the wings was an even bigger surprise -- Mark Griffin himself.

Evan and Aria’s mother, Alyson Griffin, and their two younger siblings, Owen, 4, and Noah, 1, and other family members were also attending the community meeting, under the guise of being there to watch their cousin perform in the school chorus.

When asked what he thought he’d do when he saw his dad again, second-grader Evan replied, “Cry happy tears.”

That prediction rang true as Mark Griffin made his way through a crowd of RMS students. Spotting his father first, Evan, followed quickly by his sister, raced across the gym and into his father’s arms, and, yes, shed “happy tears.”

Mark has been deployed in Jordan since April with the Army National Guard. He has been a part of the National Guard for the past 18 years, and this was his third deployment, but the first while he has had children.

“It’s been a lot, and I definitely missed a lot of birthdays and sporting events. It’s been hard on my wife. It’s just good to be home,” Mark said.

The separation wasn’t always easy, particularly with his youngest son, Noah, only being a year old, and missing a lot of his “first” milestones, Mark said. Holidays such as Christmas were hard for the children.

Being able to be with her father whenever she wants is the best part of the reunion, Aria said.

“We can spend time with him wherever we go,” she said.

Alyson arranged the surprise for her children, who thought they would be picking up their father the next day. She said Evan wasn’t the only one who was shedding happy tears during the reunion.

“It definitely made me cry. It’s heartwarming and so nice to see their reaction. We can’t believe it’s already here. It took forever,” Alyson said.

Mark said the event was a way to involve the community in his homecoming. Evan’s and Aria’s classmates already knew about his deployment; in fact, the class had arranged a project to send care packages and letters not only to Mark, but to his whole platoon.

“I got a lot of letters during the year, so it was nice knowing they had a support system back home. Their teachers and everyone have been just great,” Mark said.

Rindge Memorial School Principal Nicola Fraley said that community feeling is exactly what the district is striving for.

“From our perspective, it’s just about a sense of belonging and community, and having a sense of being connected to the wider community when we’re in school. The idea that we’re all part of a big family is important,” Fraley said.

After the reunion, the family planned to spend some time with their extended family, and had a party planned for Mark to reconnect with his friends. Alyson said the family was planning a vacation to Florida at the end of the month to help reconnect.

More immediately, Evan said he’s looking forward to reviving a tradition the family has of leaving their activity for the day up to fate, pulling a slip of paper from a jar filled with different activities and doing whichever one comes up first.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaarI@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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