Fort Valley child gets surprise visit from military mom

FORT VALLEY -- Veronica Washington wanted to spend time with her family this Christmas, but the 5-year-old had no idea she would be around more family than expected.

As she talked about her holiday wish in the gym at Hunt Elementary School, her mother, Ashley Colbert, surprised her daughter after a deployment with the U.S. Navy.

"It's very exciting," Colbert said. "I always liked when I was a kid, seeing other kids, their parents surprise them."

Colbert, 24, is stationed in Newport News, Virginia, and spent the past nine months traveling to England, Bahrain, Dubai, Singapore and Hawaii as a machinist's mate on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. She said she enjoyed the travel but not being away from Veronica for so long.

"It's tough," she said, pointing to the time difference as a major obstacle to talking to her daughter. "So it was hard to call."

Veronica has been living with her grandparents Willie and Jackie Colbert and said it was hard not spending time with her mother.

"Because I haven't been seeing her," Veronica said.

The surprise visit has been in the works for about a week, and Veronica's kindergarten teacher, Cindy Harmon, was in on it. She said she was glad to help out a Peach County native who's serving her country.

"I have been so excited," Harman said. "It's been hard to keep a secret."

She described Veronica as an "excellent student" who is well-behaved in the classroom.

"I can ask for anything, and she'll help me out," Harmon said. "I love having her in the class."

Willie and Jackie Colbert, who are Ashley Colbert's parents, also knew the visit was coming and helped coordinate the surprise. Willie Colbert said his granddaughter has missed her mom.

"It's the best Christmas we've ever had," he said.

The Christmas timing made the surprise even better, Ashley Colbert said. Veronica was under the impression that her mom wouldn't return until her birthday on Feb. 18, but now she'll be home until she heads back out Jan. 4.

Now, they can celebrate the holidays together as a family.

"I will give her my present," Veronica said.

Colbert said she re-enlisted in October for another six years and hopes to make a career in the military.

"I like to travel. I've been in five years, but this is my first deployment," she said, noting that Singapore was her favorite stop because of the country's cleanliness, people and food. "I like seeing the different parts of the world."

Still, she's glad to be home, where she can do her favorite things with her daughter, like shopping, cuddling and watching movies. Veronica said "Scooby-Doo" movies will top the list.

"We both like the same things," Veronica said.

And even after enjoying her travels abroad, home is a special place for Colbert.

"Just seeing my family, old friends, eating home-cooked meals," she said. "It's always that adrenaline rush, coming out of Byron, seeing 'Fort Valley, so many miles.' It's like, 'Oh, I'm here.'"

To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331 or find him on Twitter@MTJTimm.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Fort Valley child gets surprise visit from military mom ."