(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Labor Day Lift-Off took over Colorado Springs with about seventy hot air balloons painting the sky. This year’s celebration became extra special for one community member offering a chance to meet a long-lost relative for the first time.
But this was not just any meet and greet, Lori White Vafiades began her Sunday morning preparing for the day when she noticed the giant Remax hot air balloon headed her way, it landed just outside of her condo and delivered her long-lost cousin.
“I finally get to meet my cousin after 57 years,” said Vafiades.
For years Vafiades has enjoyed the annual Labor Day Life Off celebration. She lives near Memorial Park, so she has one of the best seats in the house, but that also means there’s a chance for unexpected landings.
“The balloon came and landed in my backyard…Yeah, just joy. Pure joy,” she added.
To her surprise, the massive Remax hot air balloon came out of nowhere and landed just outside of her window, delivering her cousin, Rebecca White Boxerjer, who was visiting from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Boxerjer told Fox21 that her company offered her a ride in this year’s Labor Day Lift Off. The pair tried to make plans to visit with one another, but ultimately could not find a time.
“I went running towards her, it was more of a joy, like a homecoming,” added Boxerjer.
“Yeah, we came running towards each other with open arms, so it was really sweet. And that means a lot to me because I’ve always wanted cousins to get in trouble with. Do you want to get into trouble?” Vafiades asked Boxerjer.
The two cousins said they first found each other through Facebook nearly twenty years ago, but never had an opportunity to meet.
“I’m 66, and finally it’s time that she would come and land in my backyard,” said Vafiades.
Boxerjer added, “I just recognized her right away …Don’t we all look alike? …I knew who she was right away.”
While Boxerjer grew up surrounded by extended family, this is a first for Vafiades. “My family is an adoptive family, so I don’t have anybody in my house that has my DNA. So this is really important to me to look to look the same,” said Vafiades.
“Now that our grandma is no longer with us, that’s pretty much when the big reunions stopped,” said Boxerjer.
They said the reunion was fate because if you have ever taken a ride in a hot air balloon, you know they rely on the wind’s direction and speed at different altitudes.
“Do you have any control in a balloon, where you land?” Vafiades asked her cousin.
“There’s no control, no. There’s no steering whatsoever,” Boxerjer responded.
It was only twenty-four minutes into Boxerjer’s flight when the Remax balloon landed in a “random parking lot,” right next to Vafiades’s condo.
“It was just God’s will. I’m just going to say it. It was God’s will. You know, we were wanting to meet, and she was busy, and I’m busy,” added Boxerjer.
“It was never awkward because we’re family. You know, and we were instant magnets,” said Vafiades.
The pair said now they are inseparable and are already making plans for future trips and a family reunion to make up for lost time. The rest of Sunday they spent as much time together as they could.
Vafiades said she is forever grateful for her new relationship with her long-lost cousin Boxerjer and her epic grand entrance.
