I'm a single mother by choice, living in Philadelphia. When my daughter was about 5 years old, she started asking for a sibling and wanted to know more about her donor. I had already decided not to have another child, but decided to check the registry to see if she had any known half-siblings. Unfortunately, there were no posts referencing my donor, so I took the initiative and posted our information.

Every so often I'd come back to the registry to see if anyone else had identified with the donor, but year after year, my post was the only one. Until last week, that is, when one of my daughter's half-siblings sent me a message through the site.

In the few days since, our daughters, who are only a few years apart, have been sharing confidences and stories on Facebook while we mothers have been using 'old fashioned' email to learn more about one another. Our stories are similar as are our daughters. Although the entire experience is still a new one, I think both girls are excited and overjoyed to have found one another.

So, for those of you who may, like me, be looking at your lone registry data, frustrated and wondering if anyone else will ever show up ... never give up. It may take years, but when it happens, it's a wonderful thing.