BANGOR, Maine — After almost two years away from home, one Marine from Verona Island is back with his family for the holidays.
At the top of 20-year-old Kyle Forsythe's Christmas list was surprising his grandmother Lee Forsythe at Solstice Senior Living in Bangor. The Marine showed up Monday morning around lunchtime to greet his grandmother with flowers and a warm hug.
"That was a surprise," 84-year-old Lee Forsythe said.
"They haven't had a lot going on with COVID because we are just basically starting to open up," Renee Smith, residence life coordinator at Solstice, said.
The senior center is carefully opening up for in-person visits. Lee Forsythe was surprised, and she proudly introduced her grandson to her friends.
"This is my grandson, Kyle. He just got home from California. Renee, this is my grandson," the grandmother said.
"I haven't seen her in a bit, and I was just doing that for her," Kyle said.
"This is nice! I don't get flowers very often, and I have a vase upstairs," Lee Forsythe said.
After his three-week vacation is over, Kyle will be head back to Twentynine Palms, California, where he is stationed, and will serve for two more years.