If you have a family, how would you deal with almost a year apart? That's the reality for many military families. One Missouri Army dad recently surprised his son at school after being deployed for 10 months.

The Kansas City Star shared this sweet moment showing Dave Masterson who's in the Army Reserves surprise his son Gavin at school. Gavin is a student at West Plains Elementary who shared this moment on their Facebook page, too.

According to their story, Dave and the school planned this surprise for Gavin as he was returning from his lunch break. Such a precious moment.

The Hill shared a story a few years ago about how we can all learn the price of family separations from military families. They mentioned "loss of a sense of safety and security, difficulty understanding the parent's extended absence and accepting alternative caregivers, fear for their parent's safety, increased emotional and behavioral problems". I can only imagine.

I don't understand how these families do it, but am thankful for each and every one of them that pays this price many times without any fanfare to serve our country and keep us free.

Welcome home, Dave. Glad you and Gavin can resume your family life together now.

New Astronaut Pictures of Missouri from the ISS

Missouri's Most Famous Places and Landmarks

More From 100.9 The Eagle, The Tri-States' Classic Rock Station