MOTHER-DAUGHTER REUNION TOOK NEARLY 80 YEARS

SONYA GRIST, 79, SPENT MOTHER'S DAY WITH HER BIRTH MOM FOR THE FIRST TIME

It's a reunion that took almost eight decades to happen, but one was that was more than worth the wait.

Earlier this month, longtime Scarborough resident Gerda Cole celebrated her 98th birthday as well as Mother's Day with her 79-year-old daughter, Sonya Grist, by her side for the first time.

"My 98th birthday was very, very special," smiled Cole, a resident of Kennedy Lodge long-term-care home, during an interview with toronto.com.

"(This reunion) has been amazing and surprising, but wonderful ... I'm still pinching myself. I can't believe it. This is something to live a few more years for."

At the start of the Second World War, Cole, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, was sent to England to escape Nazi persecution. In 1942, at the age of 18, she unexpectedly became pregnant. Unable to properly provide for her child, Cole made the difficult decision to give up her little girl.

"It was a very hard time to give away my baby . ... I never thought I'd see her again," she shared.

Grist, meanwhile, didn't even know she was adopted until she was 14 years old.

Strongly discouraged by her adoptive parents to seek out her birth mother, she didn't start looking in earnest for her biological mom until about 20 years ago, but faced various roadblocks and was ultimately unsuccessful at that time.

Everything changed about a year ago when Grist's son, Stephen, sought to obtain an Austrian citizenship as Brexit had made it challenging for U.K. citizens to live, work, study, and even travel to European Union countries.

Aware that his mother's family was from Austria,

Stephen visited several genealogical websites to confirm his Austrian lineage. During his research, he connected with Cole's stepson and learned his maternal grandmother was alive and well in Toronto.

Stephen immediately shared the news with his mother, who was eager to

make her way to Canada and give her long-lost birth mother a big hug.

For the next few months, Grist and her mother got to know one another online. They exchanged emails and sent each other photographs. Plans were then made for Grist and her son to visit

Cole on her 98th birthday, which just so happened to coincide with Mother's Day weekend.

"We planned it for her birthday. We wanted to be there," said Grist, who bears a strong resemblance to her mum.

And while the newly reunited mother and daughter know they have a lot of catching up to do, they both said last weekend's whirlwind in-person visit was a great start.

"We've just clicked ... She's quite some lady," said Grist, who is already planning to return to Canada for another visit, hopefully with at least one of her seven grandchildren.

As for Cole, she said this reunion has shown her that life is full of unexpected experiences and to always relish every opportunity that comes, even at 98 years of age.

"Anyone who is in a similar position, I urged you to follow through," she said.

"A good ending will come."