Reconnecting

Today I reconnected with a piece of my heart.
Today was a day that I have dreamed of for the past 19+ years.
19 years ago, I was in college and decided to volunteer at a local childrens home.  I chose to be a "big sister" to a little girl.  She had just turned 8 years old and she was the most beautiful, happy little girl I believe I had ever met.  She quickly settled into my heart.  And I quickly made it my mission to get her out of the childrens home for good.
And one day, just by pure chance, a couple found her and wanted her to be theirs.  And they swooped her up into what we all hoped would be her happily ever after.  And I thought I would be a part of that picture.
But it wasn't meant to happen that way.
I was told I could not be a part of her new life.
I was devastated.
For one year, she was my little girl.  Mine.  I did everything I could to make sure she had as normal of a life as possible - we went to church, I took her on vacations with my family, I bought her clothes, we went to plays, we had playdates with her friends, we shared holidays together....you name it, we did it, and in the process I was taught that loving a child that was not biologically my own was more than possible.
And in the blink of an eye it ended.  And I never even got to say goodbye.
Life went on.  I heard updates through the grapevine, all good, which made my heart happy and settled.  But oh how I missed her.
Fast forward 19+ years and today was the day that I have prayed for and dreamed of since the last day I saw her....today was the day I got to see her again.  And she is still beautiful.  And she still has a sparkle in her eye when she smiles.  And she is a mother to two gorgeous children, one of whom looks just like she did as a child.
My heart hurts.  We've missed so much together.
But at the same time, my heart smiles.  A new day has begun and I look forward to seeing her again very soon.