A northeastern Indiana soldier surprised his mother
Friday with an early return home, masquerading as Santa Claus while she sat on his
lap at a school staff Christmas breakfast while she gave a wish list of gifts.
When Prairie Heights High School math teacher Kim Harris told Santa her son had
returned from a tour in Afghanistan and was at Fort Campbell, Ky., he asked her if
she was sure of his whereabouts. Army Spc. Ethan Harris then pulled down his fake
beard and revealed his identity, eliciting a hug and tears from his mother.
"This tops the list and couldn't be a better Christmas," Kim Harris said.
The News-Sun reported (http://bit.ly/1hrGNit) that Ethan Harris arrived back in
the community about 40 miles north of Fort Wayne a few days earlier and hid at his
sister's house until Friday's breakfast.
He said he was so excited Thursday
night that he couldn't sleep.
A lottery to see who would sit on Santa's lap
had been rigged in advance so the honor would go to Kim Harris when Superintendent
Alan Middleton drew her name from a gift bag.
She wasn't expecting her son to
be in town until Monday, when a surprise party for him was planned.
It turned
out the surprise was hers.
"This is Christmas," her husband, John Harris,
said. "I have an awesome family."
