A mom has described the emotional moment her adopted daughter was reunited with her childhood friend from Taiwan after almost three years apart, and there was hardly a dry eye in sight. Sarah Plazak, 41, adopted siblings Sam, 9, and Abby, 8, in December 2023. They previously lived in different foster homes in Taiwan and only met each other in the summer of 2022.
While they have both adjusted to their new lives in South Carolina incredibly well, Sarah is keen to embrace their past and uphold the positive memories they have from their childhood. The duo instantly bonded and often had sleepovers and playdates at Emma’s house. Indeed, Abby even taught Emma some Mandarin.
Sarah said: “When I asked Abby what she remembered of playing with Emma and her little sister Mya, she said they often played dress up or played musical instruments together.” Before Abby left Taiwan in 2023, she had an emotional going away party and was gifted a photo album from Emma’s family which they hoped would allow her adoptive parents to find them one day. Thanks to social media, Sarah was able to contact Emma’s parents, Matt and Sharone Grivetti. Once Abby and Sam had settled into their adoptive home, the two families frequently organized video calls for the girls.
Sarah explained that losing friendships is a “painful and messy” part of adoption that she did not want to happen for Abby and Emma, regardless of how far apart they now live. Emma’s family would often visit relatives in the U.S. but their previous trips never aligned with Sarah’s schedule. However, that changed this August when the two families were finally able to arrange a visit in Tennessee.
Sarah instantly started planning the four-hour road trip and found a place to stay, allowing the girls to spend three days together. Sarah decided to keep the plans a secret as she did not want to get her daughter’s hopes up in case anything changed. To help her process everything, I suggested that she make bracelets for Emma and her little sister Mya and told her I’d mail them to Taiwan,” Sarah said.
When the morning of the trip rolled around, Sarah asked Abby if she wanted to do their planned homeschool lesson before mailing the bracelets, or if she wanted to drive to Tennessee and give the bracelets to Emma and Mya in-person. Of course, the answer was a resounding yes. By the time the girls saw each other, she was simply overjoyed.
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