A mother exemplified unconditional love by writing a note to her son who came out on Facebook.
On August 30, Michelle Conway McClain posted a photo of a letter she wrote to her son Zach Gibson on her Facebook page. The note read:
"Zach, I was surprised by your Facebook post where you came out. I want you to know that I love you unconditionally. I love you with my actions, not just my words. I'm so proud of you. You are the bravest person I know. I'll fight for you always. Your sexual orientation does not define you. You are still the boy who forever won my heart. The only thing that concerns me is the number of empty soda cups and tea bottles in your room. Throw them away before ants come inside. I love you always, Mom."
McClain prefaced her post by writing, "I didn't get to talk to him before I left for work today, so I left this on his bedroom door."
Her heartfelt missive quickly went viral, earning her plenty of Internet praise.
McClain and Gibson did not return Yahoo Shine's emails for comment; however, McClain updated her Facebook page on Wednesday night by writing, "Thank you so much, everyone! Zach and I are incredibly overwhelmed by all of the support from complete strangers! People have commented that he should have told me before posting on Facebook. I respect his right to come out the way he chooses. The complaint I feel is most important to address is the one that it should have said 'soda bottles and tea cups.' They were cups from fountain sodas and bottles from bottled tea from the gas station."
She also confirmed the authenticity of her letter on the Facebook page Have a Gay Day by writing, "This note is not fake. I wrote it to my son on the morning of 8/30/13 when I read on Facebook before work that he came out as bisexual. And I meant every word. I'm so proud of him!" And Gibson added to his mother's post: "I'm so overwhelmed by all the support I'm getting! This means so much to me!"
mother and sonIt seems as though parents and teens are increasingly using social media as a conduit to deliver life-altering news. In March, a father whooverheard his son discussing plans to disclose his sexual orientation to him cut him off at the pass by writing him a warm note, which quickly went viral. The letter read: "I overheard your phone conversation with Mike last night about your plans to come out to me. The only thing I need you to plan is to bring home OJ and bread after class. We are out, like you now. I've known you were gay since you were six, I've loved you since you were born. PS: Your mom and I think you and Mike make a cute couple." The letter was posted on the Facebook page of FCKH8, a pro-gay youth organization.
And in January, a 15-year-old named Laurel wanted to come out to her parents and decided thatdelivering the news on a cake (she called it a "gayke") was best. With green frosting, Laurel wrote "I'm gay" and left the treat in the kitchen next to a handwritten note that read: "Good morning parents, I'm gay. I've wanted to tell you for a long time. I thought doing it this way would be a piece of cake. I hope you still love me. I mean, it's hard not to love someone who baked you a cake. All my friends know and still love me. Your acceptance would be the icing on the cake. I hope you, much like this cake, are not in tiers. I hope we can look back on this and say 'boy, this one really takes the cake.' It gets batter. Love, Laurel (sorry for so many puns)." Laurel's awesome parents responded by hugging their daughter and talking out the matter.
On August 30, Michelle Conway McClain posted a photo of a letter she wrote to her son Zach Gibson on her Facebook page. The note read:
"Zach, I was surprised by your Facebook post where you came out. I want you to know that I love you unconditionally. I love you with my actions, not just my words. I'm so proud of you. You are the bravest person I know. I'll fight for you always. Your sexual orientation does not define you. You are still the boy who forever won my heart. The only thing that concerns me is the number of empty soda cups and tea bottles in your room. Throw them away before ants come inside. I love you always, Mom."
McClain prefaced her post by writing, "I didn't get to talk to him before I left for work today, so I left this on his bedroom door."
Her heartfelt missive quickly went viral, earning her plenty of Internet praise.
McClain and Gibson did not return Yahoo Shine's emails for comment; however, McClain updated her Facebook page on Wednesday night by writing, "Thank you so much, everyone! Zach and I are incredibly overwhelmed by all of the support from complete strangers! People have commented that he should have told me before posting on Facebook. I respect his right to come out the way he chooses. The complaint I feel is most important to address is the one that it should have said 'soda bottles and tea cups.' They were cups from fountain sodas and bottles from bottled tea from the gas station."
She also confirmed the authenticity of her letter on the Facebook page Have a Gay Day by writing, "This note is not fake. I wrote it to my son on the morning of 8/30/13 when I read on Facebook before work that he came out as bisexual. And I meant every word. I'm so proud of him!" And Gibson added to his mother's post: "I'm so overwhelmed by all the support I'm getting! This means so much to me!"
mother and sonIt seems as though parents and teens are increasingly using social media as a conduit to deliver life-altering news. In March, a father whooverheard his son discussing plans to disclose his sexual orientation to him cut him off at the pass by writing him a warm note, which quickly went viral. The letter read: "I overheard your phone conversation with Mike last night about your plans to come out to me. The only thing I need you to plan is to bring home OJ and bread after class. We are out, like you now. I've known you were gay since you were six, I've loved you since you were born. PS: Your mom and I think you and Mike make a cute couple." The letter was posted on the Facebook page of FCKH8, a pro-gay youth organization. And in January, a 15-year-old named Laurel wanted to come out to her parents and decided thatdelivering the news on a cake (she called it a "gayke") was best. With green frosting, Laurel wrote "I'm gay" and left the treat in the kitchen next to a handwritten note that read: "Good morning parents, I'm gay. I've wanted to tell you for a long time. I thought doing it this way would be a piece of cake. I hope you still love me. I mean, it's hard not to love someone who baked you a cake. All my friends know and still love me. Your acceptance would be the icing on the cake. I hope you, much like this cake, are not in tiers. I hope we can look back on this and say 'boy, this one really takes the cake.' It gets batter. Love, Laurel (sorry for so many puns)." Laurel's awesome parents responded by hugging their daughter and talking out the matter.
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