KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – There was an emotional homecoming Monday in Clay County, where a sailor made a surprise visit to his daughter's elementary school.
U.S. Navy Electronics Technician Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Grant has been stationed in the Middle East. He hadn't seen his 7-year-old daughter for five months, and that was only during a brief shore leave during a multi-year mission.
While serving in the Middle East may be a daily routine for Grant, stopping by Keystone Heights Elementary to surprise his daughter, Sunshine Steib, brought him a little bit of nervousness.
"My knees are shaking," Grant said.
But the choreographed surprise went perfectly.
So he wouldn't spoil the surprise, Grant hid in the front office with Sunshine's mother and grandmother until the big moment arrived.
"We have a special guest here to see someone he hasn't seen in a very long time," Assistant Principal Corrine Lavin told students.
That's when Sunshine quickly realized this was no normal lunchtime.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed.
Shortly after the two embraced, the overjoyed second-grader showed her dad off to all her friends.
"I didn't know" what was going on at first, Sunshine said.
After the surprise, News4Jax was told it was all grandma’s idea.
"She sees videos of kids seeing their dads all the time," said Samantha Steib, Sunshine's grandmother.
With smiles and a few tears all around the school, Grant and Sunshine decided to get her backpack and head out to do what fathers and daughters do.
"I think we'll go grab some lunch, grab some ice cream?" Grant asked his daughter, who liked the idea.
Grant said he will be re-deployed in a few weeks to Virginia, where he thinks he will serve stateside, which is a lot better for the family.