You never know what will happen when you introduce yourself to a stranger. For Meri Gyetvay and Old Town resident Sharon Gibson, it was a gift: mother and daughter, separated after Meri’s birth, had found each other.
They’ve known each other about six months now, according to Meri.
They usually see each other once a week, according to Meri.
“We get along great,” Meri said.
Meri’s niece had a DNA test done through ancestry.com. This led to a discovery:
Meri’s birth mother lived in the area.
The niece sent a message to Meri on Facebook and put Meri in touch with the woman who gave birth to her.
Meri said she had always known she was put up for adoption when her mother was young.
Meri did not know what her birth mother had told the people in her life.
“By not looking for her, I was looking out for her best interests,” Meri said.
Ironically, Sharon Gibson had similar concerns. Sharon said she did not want to reach out to her daughter at first because she didn’t want to disrupt her daughter’s family.
Meri Gyetvay’s niece phoned Sharon Gibson and told Sharon that she was part of their family
“Now we can’t get enough of each other,” Sharon said.
“She cares about my health and happiness,” Sharon said.
After learning that her mother lived in this area, Meri said she had her niece contact her birth mother first, to make sure mom was open to contact.
Her niece gave Meri her mother’s phone number.
Meri’s adoptive mom, dad, and husband passed away within a short period of time. Six years later, she was reunited with her birth mother.
Sharon Gibson said she believed she got the call on May 15. Meri told Sharon that she was Sharon’s daughter. “I was just ecstatic,” Sharon said.
“She was looking for me for a long time,” Sharon said.
Meri Gyetvay said it was strange not growing up with her mother, Sharon Gibson, yet discovering their similarities.
Meri and Sharon have both worked with people with developmental disabilities, Meri said.
Sharon said she was an educator before her stroke.
“She [Meri] is remarkable with children,” Sharon said.
Meri still works in the special needs fields to earn a living, but makes films and music for joy.
In fact, the day they first met Meri took Sharon Gibson with her to the set of a film she was working on. “Ever since then, we’ve been hanging out and enjoying life,” Sharon said.
Since then, Meri has put both Sharon and Sharon’s husband in her films.
“We look similar,” said Meri.
Mother and daughter love music. Sharon can’t play music any more due to her stroke, according to Meri. But Meri plays guitar.
Both women are widows.
The similarities continue.
“I’m obsessed with Hawaii,” Meri said. She travels there a lot. Meri said Sharon has never been to Hawaii but all of the decor in Sharon’s home is Hawaiian.
Meri said they share facial expressions. Meri said she wished it could be like that for everyone in similar circumstances.
You may see them at the upcoming Seal Beach Christmas Parade. Mother and daughter will be attending the parade together for the first time in their lives this year.
Sharon said Meri wants to sit on Santa’s lap with her.
“She’s a blessing,” Sharon said.
