85-Year-Old Grandma Gets Airport Surprise From Great-Grandsons Before Dream Trip
While waiting for her flight with her daughter and granddaughter at Chicago's O'Hare airport, McCarthy spotted some familiar faces across the way: her two great grandsons, Finley and Wyatt, who surprised her all the way from Colorado. And her reaction was caught on a video.
'I looked out there and I said, 'That kid looks just like Finley!'' said McCarthy. Finley, 6, and Wyatt, 4, can be seen in the video running into their great grandma's arms while yelling, 'We surprised you!'
The video of Grandma Mary and her unexpected travel buddies now has more than 700K views on TikTok, with people from around the world loving the surprise — and her reaction.
'I think that's why we knew we wanted to make it a surprise, because she has the best reactions,' said granddaughter Sarah Giannini, mother to Finley and Wyatt, who was the mastermind behind it all.
'We decided that when I landed with my family, I would go ahead and sit with my mom, grandma, and kind of chat, put her at ease a little bit,' said Giannini.
'Then I would text my husband to walk by, and we wanted to see how many times he could walk by with the boys without her noticing. So the video picks up right when I text him, and she saw him instantly.'
In that instant, all the careful planning paid off, and Grandma Mary's reaction didn't disappoint.
'I'm surprised I didn't scream louder, but I knew I was in the airport,' said McCarthy. ''Well, you better tone it down,' I told myself.'
Giannini says her boys were in on the surprise, and even came up with little white lies to throw grandma off the scent.
'I think you hear my youngest [in the video] kind of going, 'Hee, hee, we were so sneaky,' because they would purposely try to lay false trails,' said Giannini.
With the surprise a huge success, the family set out on their Irish adventure. From dancing in pubs to exploring castles and listening to bagpipes, Grandma Mary did it all — even dabbling in falconry.
'I saw everybody do it, and I thought, 'Well, heck, I'm gonna do it too,' said McCarthy.
Despite all the incredible experiences, both McCarthy and Giannini said the best part of the trip were the simple moments spent together.
'I don't get to see them that often, living a thousand miles apart,' said McCarthy. 'But we had a whole week together, and in the morning they'd come running [and say] good morning and give me a hug. It was so nice every day, every single day. I'm getting tears in my eyes thinking about it.'
After this trip of a lifetime, Grandma Mary is already dreaming of their next adventure together.
'It was amazing. I'd love to go again,' said McCarthy. 'Drop of a hat — I'm ready. [It will] only take me 10 minutes to pack!'
Giannini says they're planning their next reunion trip for Disney World. Until then, she says the viral video serves as a friendly reminder of how precious their time together is.
'I'm a lucky, lucky, lucky lady,' McCarthy added.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
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