Two weeks ago, Vickie Wieberg sent a poignant message out into the universe.
In a June 3 Facebook post, she talked to her friends about the difficult choice she and her boyfriend made 22 years ago to give their newborn up for adoption. Wieberg, who lives in Jefferson City today, and Ashley Becker - Helias High School sweethearts - never expected to conceive at such a young age.
"22 years ago today, 2 babies had a baby & she changed their lives forever. I remember as a 16 year old, thinking that the thought of seeing her again one day would be FOREVER away & I remember my Dad telling me, it will go by in the blink of an eye," she wrote.
"As far as I was told, your name is Mary & you lived in Kansas City, Mo. Your father (is) a Dr. and you were adopted through Catholic Charities ... Happy 22nd birthday to my first born baby girl! God bless you always, love, Mom."
Wieberg didn't expect the message - partly a prayer, partly catharsis and partly a sweet birthday greeting - to resonate the way it did. The words poured straight from her heart.
"I wrote some things I felt and hit send. I didn't even edit," she said.
She did not intend for something momentous to happen, but says she felt nudged by a higher power.
"It's time, it's time, it's time," her inner voice told her.
But then something momentous did happen.
Thousands of people started to share her post. Websites picked the story up.
On June 7, Wieberg posted an adorable picture of a little girl in a funny hat with flowers on the brim. The photo came into the birth parent's possession when Becker's grandfather, on his deathbed in 1999, asked to see a picture of the child one last time and the adoptive family assented.
Wieberg was at a family wedding when the first inkling of a connection surfaced on Facebook. She could hardly sit still.
Within a week, a website administrator who knew the adoptive family had seen the post and wondered what to do. She had babysat the little girl; her aunt was a close friend of the adoptive mother.
The aunt approached her good friend and within days the connections had been made.
Pam Detten, the woman who adopted the little girl years ago, said she was glad the situation unfolded as it did. Detten is married to Ross Detten, a Springfield family physician. The couple adopted the infant soon after her birth, changed her name from Ashley to Mary Pat and raised her with pride, joy and affection.
"We were so thankful the information came to us first, so we could share it with our daughter," Detten said. "My husband and I always thought Mary Pat's adoption was very special."
The Dettens knew the infant came from supportive and caring Jefferson City families. They knew the birth father remained involved through the delivery. When the adoption actually happened, Wieberg's baby ring and Becker's baby afghan were delivered as gifts.
"So the fact that there was so much support spoke very highly that there was a lot of love with this adoption," Pam Detten said. "We always had this beautiful story to tell our daughter."
The Dettens say they always felt one day a reunion might happen.
"When we found out this information, there was real excitement. It was positive from the beginning," Pam Detten said. "Vickie's letter was very touching and heartfelt."
Pam Detten said she and her husband also wanted to support Mary Pat in whatever she decided.
"I always had in my heart that it would be a good thing. There was a lot of love in the beginning," she said.
Detten described her daughter as a chatty, funny, happy, creative child.
"She's always had a wisdom about her, a little beyond her years," she said. "People are drawn to that."
For Mary Pat, the last two weeks have been an emotional whirlwind.
She always wanted to know who her birth parents were, and even went looking for them a few years ago.
"There's so many ways it could go wrong and so many ways it could go right," she said. "You don't know how important your point of origin is, until you don't really have it. That curiosity of bloodline doesn't go away."
Wieberg and Becker were ready to meet, but didn't want to pressure her or intrude in the Detter's lives. Wieberg wanted to give Mary Pat the chance to be the first to reach out. She did in a message to her birth mother, saying she'd never cried so hard or been so excited in her whole life.
"For me, it's been 22 years," Mary Pat said. "I was ready to rip off the Band-Aid and go with it. It's happening. Make it happen."
"Everything has been my decision."
Wieberg and Becker drove into Kansas City for Thursday's reunion. (Mary Pat grew up in Nixa, but lives in Kansas City today, where she works as a hair stylist and loves fashion.) She chose the Classic Cup on the Plaza. Pam and Russ arrived later that same day from Springfield.
The reunion was joyous. Mary Pat said the whole experience has been positive.
"It's all very good. I couldn't dream of it happening any better than it did," she said.
At first she worried about how the news might make Pat and Russ feel, but those fears abated.
"They've been more supportive than I could ever imagine," she said. "They are some of the best people I've ever known. They understand how emotional this has been for me. They know I love them."
But she said last week was incredibly overwhelming.
"Imagine there is a whole other family out there that has loved you without you even being there. I have grandmothers, parents, aunts, brothers and sisters who I have never known, who loved me," she said. "It's an overwhelming amount of love."
Today Wieberg and Becker live in Jefferson City and Columbia, respectively. They both have two children with their spouses. Wieberg is a public school nurse and Becker works as a chef.
Although they broke up in college, they never forgot the bond that held them together. They made a pact to always "do everything together" regarding their daughter. They never forgot her; they even continued to celebrate her birthdays.
The young couple was on track to keeping the baby, but ultimately were persuaded to give her up for adoption. Although the decision was terribly difficult, it was done out of love.
"I had a very, very good childhood," Becker said. "I grew up wanting for nothing. ... I knew I couldn't give that kind of childhood to her at the age of 18."
Wieberg was open with everyone about this chapter of her life. Her 6-year-old son has always been interested in his "big sister," to the point she had to explain to his teachers who "Ashley" was.
Becker never forgot the newborn girl and even considered hiring a private investigator. It never occurred to him Facebook held the power to make the walls of space and time crumble.
His biggest fear was that Mary Pat might reject him. He was nervous about meeting the Dettens, but was surprised to be embraced by them, whom he found to be warm and loving.
"I told Pam, "I'm so appreciative. You didn't have to do that.' I don't know if I could be as strong as they are," he said.
Wieberg, Becker and Detten commented on how natural the reunion felt for all involved.
"It's like we were one big huge family," Wieberg said.