Marine Travels 1,700 Miles To Surprise Chicago Mom With A Visit

This post is sponsored and contributed by Ring, a Patch Brand Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own.

It was a typical Sunday evening of preparing dinner and watching the Chicago Bears game for Vanetta, a resident of Chicago, Illinois, when she got the surprise of a lifetime. She hadn’t seen her son Deshaun in four years because he is a Marine stationed in California. That day, he decided to travel 1,700 miles to pay her an unexpected visit.

“My son calls in a normal fashion without a hint he’s here, asks what I cooked, says that sounds good and says can I have some,” explains Vanetta. “I reply ‘Sure, I’ll mail it.’ And he says, ‘No seriously.’ I dismiss him.”

Next thing you know, Vanetta received a message from Deshaun, and it’s a photo of her house, “which has my fall flowers and a sign I put in my window ‘We are all in this together,’ so I knew it was recent,” she recalls.

Skeptical that someone was playing a trick on her, Vanetta decided to go outside and check for herself. That’s when she saw Deshaun get out of the car to her astonishment. “I felt like a kid at Christmas, I was just so excited,” she recalls.

“I felt like I was dreaming,” adds Vanetta. “I couldn't believe that it was possible how he set me up like that. Because you know, I'm like, ‘You don't get anything by me.’”

Fortunately, Vanetta’s joyous reunion with Deshaun took place in front of her Ring Video Doorbell Pro, and thanks to the Ring Protect subscription, she was able to save and share the video of that sweet memory.

“I pulled it up and I was like, ‘Oh my God, it caught me seeing my son,’” she says of the footage. “And I sent it to a friend, and that's how it got on the news.”

And as a 29-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, Vanetta also appreciates how her Ring Video Doorbell helps her keep an eye on her home. “I'm an empty-nester. My children are gone, and it gives me a sense of security,” she explains. “I can always pull up the Ring and look at it. I like when I get deliveries, it alerts me when someone comes on the porch and leaves me a box or something like that. I can monitor my property and see what's going on, so it's very important.”

And saving that special moment of her giving her son that huge hug was a bonus of having a Ring Video Doorbell* for Vanetta. “I’ve probably watched this so many times. I feel happy. It brightens my day,” she says. “Thank you, Ring, for capturing this amazing surprise given to me by my son.”

* Ring Protect subscription required to record and save videos. Subscription sold separately. For more information on our subscription plans please visit https://ring.com/protect-plans.

Stay connected with family and friends — and help protect the people, pets and property you love — with Video Doorbells and Security Cameras from Ring.