Dear Instinct,
My mom definitely deserves this honor! She has been an RN for more than 33 years and works in CVICU, which is where all the post-open-heart surgery people go. She is one of the most amazing people I know. She and my dad both gave up so much for me to be a gymnast/cheerleader growing up. I am now a professional gymnastics and cheerleading coach, so at least their efforts weren’t in vain! Mom is finishing her master’s this year after returning to school at the age of 50. While attending school, she still finds time to be an amazing person, mom and wife. (Plus, you guys have yet to have a mom from Texas, as far as I know!) I think it’s about time the world knows that I am the youngest gay son of an amazing woman! Thanks guys!
Geoff Dudley
Comanche, TX
“Geoffrey and I have always been close; he’s the only one of my three sons who looks like me!” his mother, Kerry, laughs. “We have an extremely loving relationship when all is said and done.”
“I have two older brothers,” Geoff adds, “and while our relationship is very different from hers with them, it’s still awesome.”
“I am very proud of the young man Geoffrey has become. It was not easy realizing his dreams growing up in small-town America, where he wanted to pursue cheerleading and being a drum major,” she says. “I’m proud that he accepted his true inner self without backing down from it. He came out of his shell and entered the adult world as a confident young man.”
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We asked Geoff about his mom. “Her going back to school to get her master’s is amazing, but I’d have to say I’m proudest of her involvement with the community. She started going to the ‘local’ (an hour away) PFLAG meetings after I came out,” he says. “My dad even went along once. She’s just an amazing woman who helps everyone she can.”
Kerry shows her compassion and empathy every day in her career. If all goes as planned, she will have completed her master’s by the time this goes to print in a field that means more to her than a paycheck. “Nursing is not a demanding job to me—it’s a ministry. It speaks to who I am and the gifts I believe God wants me to share with others,” she says. “Having a service-oriented career has often presented challenges to my home life while the boys were growing up. However, I believe seeing the world through my eyes, hearing some of the stories I’ve related over the years and understanding there are others out there less fortunate has helped each one of my sons be a better person.”
(And if you ask us, perhaps having such an exceptional woman for a mother had something to do with it, too.)
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