Family is the basic unit of society. Without it, it’s hard for a person to feel complete. When you’re just a teenager, it’s hard to figure out what to do when you get pregnant unexpectedly. When this happens, two things come to mind: abortion or adoption.

76 years ago, an 18-year-old couple had a baby, and after considering their options, they decided to give their daughter, Harriet, up. Three years later, another baby girl was born. Her name is Linda, and she grew up in her birth parents’ home in Lakewood, Colorado without knowing that she had a long-lost sister who lives in California.

The sisters only found out about each other when they both signed up for ancestry.com. They were both curious if they had relatives around the world, so they took the DNA test which revealed that they were a 100% match.

Harriet and Linda began conversing on the phone every day after learning about one other. While the pandemic prevented them from meeting in person immediately away, they decided just before Christmas that it was time to book the flight.

Linda had created a special room for Harriet, complete with gorgeous Christmas decorations. Harriet’s flight landed in Lakewood on a Tuesday in December, where her younger sister, Linda, was waiting for her.

When they met, they immediately recognized each other, and they hugged tight. The newly-found sisters said that they are not focusing on all the years they missed without knowing each other, but on the time they have left together.