(June 25) -- While a California mom recently found her long-lost children on Facebook, a more traditional mother in Washington state has reunited with the son she gave up for adoption 43 years ago, thanks to a simple newspaper classified ad.
Patti Langdon, 65, of Tacoma, Wash., said her strict father forced her to give up her newborn son when she was a 22-year-old unwed mother. Though twice married since then, Langdon never had other children and was haunted by thoughts of her only son, who was born April 19, 1967.
"Every April 19, I cry," she told CNN. "Every Mother's Day, I disappear for the day."
For the past 43 years on April 19, Langdon placed a "Happy Birthday" ad in the classifieds section of the Tacoma News-Tribune. The message remained roughly the same: "Happy Birthday Baby Boy Langdon. I've Always Loved You. Your Birth Mom, Patti Langdon."
This year, Langdon, who worked for the paper's classifieds section for many years, included her son's name -- Todd -- after learning it from an adoption agency.
After decades of hoping for a response, she finally received one on Monday when her birth son, Todd Smith, appeared on her doorstep.
"He rang my bell and I looked out the peephole and I thought it was a UPS driver," Langdon told CNN.
"I just said, 'I might be your son,' and I show her the ad," Smith said.
The married, 43-year-old father of two, who lives 30 minutes from Langdon in Lacey, Wash., said he never tried to track down his birth mother.
"I never did any of that business because you run the risk of being disappointed," he told The News-Tribune. "I was more worried about her being disappointed with me."
Smith had come across Langdon's ad by accident, when curiosity led him to do a computer search on how many babies were born at Tacoma General Hospital on his birthday. Of the 75,000 search results, he said, the first was Langdon's 2-month-old classified ad, wishing him a happy 43rd birthday.
Accompanied by his wife, Smith drove to Langdon's home and knocked on the door. Mother and son said they immediately recognized a resemblance between them, and Langdon enveloped Smith in a long-awaited hug.
"I just squeezed him tight," she told The News-Tribune. "I didn't want to let go of him."
Langdon and Smith spent many hours catching up Monday. Now an electrician, Smith promised to introduce Langdon to his adoptive parents and to his own sons, ages 6 and 8.
"I told my two boys they have a new grandma," Smith said.
Langdon said she's been scared to sleep since the reunion, fearing it was all a dream.
"I still can't believe that we've found each other," Langdon told The News-Tribune. "I don't have to feel alone anymore."
