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 Dear Instinct,
I nominate my stepmom, Amanda Karr, for Mom of the Month. She is the bomb! She deserves this because she treats me like an actual son. She even supports me all the way for being gay. She always has a way to keep me happy. She is always there for me, even when I have problems in my life. She is a great role model for my siblings and me. She sets good examples for us. She’s with me every day until we slide under our covers and close our eyes to our dreams.
Zach Karr
Iroquois, IL
“We have a very good relationship—I’ve raised him since he was 8 years old, and we have always been close. We talk about everything and always find ourselves laughing. I just want him to be happy and be himself,” Amanda says. “Even though he is my stepson, I will always look at him as one of my own.” When Zach came out, she was just as loving. “She said that she will love me no matter what,” he remembers. “I’m proud of her because she has supported me in everything.”
Amanda says that she’s proud of him for many reasons, but especially
for his courage in letting her know his true feelings about being gay,
and for trusting her enough to know that she would support him. “He is
a very caring and nice stepson,” she says, “and I wouldn’t trade our
relationship for anything.” She recognizes that being a stepmom can be
challenging in itself, but she’s happy to be there for the entire
family. “I realized that they needed all the love I could give them and
a motherly person to help them with everyday things that a mother
does,” Amanda says. “Don’t get me wrong—times can be hard, and it
breaks my heart to see them sad or upset—but I am here for them and can
only try my best as a stepmom. It’s a learning process, and I’m always
learning how to deal with things every day.”
It even brought a tear to
our eyes to hear how seriously and lovingly Amanda takes her role in
her family. “It meant a lot to me to hear from Zach that he wanted me
to be mom of the month. Honestly, I wept,” she says. “And any stepmom
out there knows how it feels to see that you have an impact on your
stepchildren’s life in a good way. It’s the little thank-yous that mean
the most.” On behalf of Zach, his family and all the kids out there
lucky to have a wonderful mother (step- or otherwise) like Ms. Karr,
we’d like to add our own: Thank you for everything you do, Amanda. The
world is a better place with you in it.
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If you would like to nominate your mom (or dad), send an e-mail to parent@instinctmag.com!
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Instinct Online 
