The Gentle Year
Parenting is both universal and deeply personal. The Gentle Year is a podcast from Turning The Tide Tutoring, created to give parents a space to share their experiences, challenges, and triumphs from all around the world.
Hosted by Knikki Hernandez, The Gentle Year explores real stories of raising children — from discipline and detachment to resilience, love, and loss. Each conversation invites honesty, curiosity, and compassion, reminding us that there is no single “right” way to parent, but there are countless ways to grow together.
Whether you’re a new parent, seasoned caregiver, or simply curious about the many shapes family life can take, this podcast offers connection, perspective, and gentle encouragement for the journey.
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The Gentle Year
What Grandparents Need to Understand About Autism | Jennifer Kaufman (Part 1)
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Part 1 of this conversation with Jennifer Kaufman explores autism, family dynamics, and the grandparent perspective through both professional and deeply personal experiences. Jennifer is the author of Grandparenting on the Spectrum: A Journey from Both Sides of the Desk and a longtime school principal who worked extensively with autistic students and their families before autism became part of her own family structure.
In this episode, topics include:
- The emotional shift from educator to grandmother after her grandson’s autism diagnosis
- How grandparents can support families without overwhelming parents with advice
- Communication delays, sensory behaviors, and repetitive patterns in autistic children
- The connection between communication development and behavioral regulation
- Why routines, predictability, and patience matter in autism support
- Socialization challenges and helping siblings and cousins understand autism
- The evolving relationship between grandparents and autistic grandchildren
- Wandering/elopement behaviors and the dangers associated with water safety
- The importance of swimming lessons specifically designed for autistic children
- How Jennifer’s personal experience changed the way she approached students, families, and IEP meetings as a school administrator
- Autism, pattern recognition, creativity, structure, and intense focus on objects and systems
- Shifting expectations as a grandparent and learning how to lead with support instead of control
The conversation also explores broader questions surrounding leadership roles within families, emotional restraint, advocacy, and what it means to truly understand and support neurodivergent children in both educational and home environments.
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Welcome to the Gentle Year. Today I'm joined by Jennifer Kaufman, author of Grandparenting on the Spectrum, a Journey from Both Sides of the Desk. She is also a longtime school principal who has spent years working with autistic students and their families. In this first part of our conversation, we're going to discuss what autism can look like from the grandparent perspective and how family dynamics change once a diagnosis is made. We're also going to discuss communication, sensory behaviors, wandering and water safety, and the challenging realities that many families navigate behind the scenes. Jennifer is also going to share how her professional experience in special education changed once autism became a part of her own family structure. She offers practical insight into supporting autistic children with patience, structure, and understanding. I'm your host, Nikki Hernandez, and once again, welcome to the gentle year. I'm super excited to have this amazing guest with us today. Her name is Jennifer Kaufman, and she is going to be talking to us all about being a grandparent, autism, training for parents and what they should be looking out for. It's going to be a great conversation. So welcome to part one of this interview with Jennifer. And Jennifer, I'm going to go ahead and pass the mic to you. Can you tell us a little bit more about where you're from and who you are and what you do?
SPEAKER_01Sure. Thank you for that intro. Yeah, so I am actually located right outside of New York City in northern New Jersey. I am the author of a book called Grandparenting on the Spectrum: A Journey from Both Sides of the Desk. And I wrote this book because for many years I have been a school principal at a school for learners with autism. And then my grandchild, my grandson, Ben, was diagnosed with autism. And suddenly the professional expert me came face to face with grandparent me. And dealing with that and and the lessons that I learned is something that I write about in my book and is why I'm on your podcast today.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for that. What was the scariest part about navigating that situation as a grandparent, especially since you had done all of this tremendous work in the school systems as a professional, but now you were dealing with it on a very personal level. What was the scariest part of that for you?
SPEAKER_01So, you know, it's it's hard to talk about the scary part because I I don't know if it was necessarily fear. It was definitely fear of the unknown and fear of the future and what the future will hold from my grandson. Um, but I think that the thing that scared me was the reaction that I got from my daughter and her husband at times, in terms of me bringing my professional knowledge into this relationship of mom, grandma, family. But now there's a school principal in in the midst of things, and learning to step back and realize that that role of grandparent came first, and making sure that the unsolicited advice that I might have been given changed to, you know, finding opportunities where advice was looked for and asked for and providing it that way, um, it was much more receptive, productive type of conversation then versus just another opinion by another person.
SPEAKER_00Before we continue this interview, I have two questions for you. First, have you ever found yourself resistant to help from others or perhaps wisdom due to overwhelm, fatigue, or another factor? And do you think that Jennifer's daughter was resistant to Jennifer's advice initially out of a desire to protect her own autonomy and self-image as a mom? What kind of advice were you giving her?
SPEAKER_01Oh gosh, everything from hey, I read this article in a journal to I heard somebody talking about toilet training and you need to call this person. Um and it sort of fell on deaf ears because she was literally getting suggestions from everyone, from like internet friends to other relatives to the grocery store cashier, the pediatrician, the therapist. Everybody had something to say. And it was probably me as grandma, as mom, that was that was the last person that she needed judgment or unsolicited advice from. I would I should have been a support system more than an advice giver.
SPEAKER_00So do you feel that your professional background was getting in the way of the relationship that you had with your daughter? Is that what was going on? Or do you feel that your professional background was actually helping her navigate the situation, even though she may not have welcomed it?
SPEAKER_01Um when I shifted the way I presented the advice, I think it was beneficial. Where, and I talk about this in my book, where it was more of a hey, email a link to an article and say, hey, I read this, this was great. Maybe it'll help you at some point, or maybe it'll come in handy and never ask about it again. And sometimes it would come up in a conversation, and sometimes I would never hear about it. And that's okay. And it was really something, a shift within myself to understand that I was mom and grandma first. And principle was a secondary kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00Jennifer said something interesting, and that is that her leadership role as a principal had to evolve in order to maintain and strengthen the relationship with her daughter. So, from your personal perspective, has your professional background ever impacted a loved one? And in terms of leadership roles and support roles, which role do you typically play in family situations involving your children? Your daughter navigating the situation by herself? Was she alone?
SPEAKER_01Um no, she's got she's got a husband that is very supportive, and um she's got a lot of friends and she definitely has a support system.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Definitely. Yeah. So for your grandson, when you found out that he had autism, how did love, the love that you have for him, kind of change or evolve in that moment? When what was sort of the difference between loving him as a grandparent and now loving him as a special needs grandparent?
SPEAKER_01I think it only deepened it. It only deepened it because I have learned so much in the eight years that he has been on this planet from him. From um, you know, I've had a lot of children with autism pass through my life in the professional capacity. And you always learn a little something, but really having a member of your family who is autistic, you can interact and observe them and um form a relationship that is is a deep relationship and understand being able to like bring my professional knowledge and understanding into the relationship without even saying anything, just having an awareness of certain things, certain behaviors, or you know, well, why is he walking around the room dragging his hand around all of the walls or needing to touch the curtains a hundred times? Like that's okay. And I didn't need to pursue it. I just understood that that was okay. You know? Sort of gave me a little head start.
SPEAKER_00Indeed, indeed. Appreciate that. So for you, what is one of the key differences between loving a child with special needs and supporting one professionally? This episode is brought to you by Your Wish is Your Command. Let's learn more.
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SPEAKER_01Oh, that's a really good question. Um as a professional, you can stay somewhat separate. Right? You you the there's that professional boundary where you're not living it. But as a grandmother, you're all in. You hold the long view, you worry about his future in a way that you uh never really do for students. It's just different. It's different stakes, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, definitely. So what is one thing that you struggled with privately going through this as a grandmother that you probably didn't experience as a a principal? So because you weren't personally connected to what was going on, obviously you were connected in a professional way and you care. Professional doesn't mean that you don't care, obviously. Um, it just means that there's a little bit of an emotional distance and a line that you just don't cross. So, what did you personally struggle with, maybe in ways that you weren't able to talk about at school or to talk about even with your daughter because she had so much on her plate?
SPEAKER_01Right. Um I think really worrying about what happens when I'm not there. What happens when I'm not like, you know, I'm generations older than my grandson. What happens when I'm not there? Will he remember me? Will um, you know, will I have an impact, a lasting impact that he'll take with him throughout his life? Um wanting to help but not quite knowing how. And learning that asking and listening and responding in ways that are needed versus doing what I think I should be doing, um something that I learned.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Has this experience changed the way or did it change the way that you did your job and handled IEP meetings and all of that kind of stuff at school?
SPEAKER_01You know, I I think it made me more empathetic. I think it made me more compassionate because when it's crazy, but when I look at the the kids in my school, the students in my school, they almost feel more like family now. They feel like I I there's a certain connection and I think that in the back of my mind somewhere, I go, Oh, that that little one reminds me of Ben, or oh, I've heard Ben say that too, or or do that type of um repetitious um you know, patterns or or or sensory things. Um yeah, there's more identification, I think, and more more of yourself understanding. Yeah, yeah. I think I'm more invested in them because of Ben.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. What wins and successes have you had in terms of establishing a personal connection with your grandson?
SPEAKER_01Oh, so many. Oh, so many. Um I think that the fact that he loves to come to my house and spend time with me is is a biggie. I think that every day at four o'clock when I get out of work, I call his mom and he's in the back of the car because he's going home from school and it's gone from having no communication to now when I call I hear, hello, grandma, you know, this sort of he calls you that and he calls you grandma. He calls me grandma, yeah. That's cute. Can't quite say his ours yet. Um but yeah, and listening to the communication development is is pretty cool. Uh and seeing those patterns happen, establishing those routines so that he knows what to expect. He knows that when I and sometimes I call and I'll say hi Ben, and I hear, hello Ben, and it's like we just prompt him a little note, hello grandma, you know, and then we'll get that. Um, but looking at everything as a learning opportunity to support him is just so important, and that's something I've I've realized too.
SPEAKER_00Jennifer stated that she started to recognize patterns of behaviors in her students that reminded her of her grandson Ben. This caused her to identify more personally with their situation and also to develop a stronger sense of empathy. Do you believe that the families that she was working with felt and or resonated with this change? What are some of Ben's biggest struggles?
SPEAKER_01Um, well, his communication is developing. It every time I talk to him, it seems like there's a little bit more um socialization. He's got a lot of cousins, and he's got an absolutely wonderful set of grandparents on the other side who will work with those cousins. They're little, they're just like him, eight, six, five years old. And um those grandparents see those cousins more and will really work to help them understand that, you know, Ben might talk a little different, or he might not be interested in playing with you, but he's in the room with you, and that's okay. Um, and getting them to understand that somebody with autism is part of our family.
SPEAKER_00I know you were concerned about him not remembering you at a at a certain point. Do you still have that concern now?
SPEAKER_01Um I don't know. I try to say I try to stay hella. I feel like the the longer our relationship can be, the likelihood of him um someday remembering me. I I'm sure I have an impact on him and on his his life. So, you know, I'm I don't think I'm as worried as I once was.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Since he can't communicate so well with words, not that he can't communicate. I I know he's growing and still developing in that area, but do you have to look more at his behavior to sort of notice what he's trying to say?
SPEAKER_01Well, certainly, because you know, as the professional me knows that all behavior is communication. And I have noticed over the years as his communication level has increased, as his skills have increased, his behaviors have gone down. And there's been less instant less instances of those frustrations and the um the acting out as his communication developed. It's great to see. Um so there's definitely that correlation between the two.
SPEAKER_00What are some of those behaviors specifically that he engages in? You know, I'm thinking in my head, playing with blocks, maybe listening to soothing music or something like that. What what are some of the hobbies and things that he that he enjoys doing? Oh, what are some habits that he has in terms of behaviors, maybe like a a tick or a a a quirk or you know, something along those lines?
SPEAKER_01Sure. Um Well, his current the current thing that he's been doing in the past few months has been saying when when we're all talking and talking to him, he might say, Okay, no talk. Okay, no talk. And he'll tell us to stop talking. And then one day we realized that he was doing it primarily when I would say to my daughter, How do you do in school today? And if he had a challenging day, he was more likely to say to us, okay, no talk, because he didn't want us talking about the challenging day that he might have had. He didn't want my daughter telling me that he was having it, he had had a challenging day.
SPEAKER_00Oh, really?
SPEAKER_01Um yeah. And so it was a lot of okay, no talks, but then that evolved because we just sort of made a game out of it because we'd start whispering or we'd start singing, and then that turned into okay, no sing. And he was generalizing it, okay, no whispering. And it was pretty cool to watch that piece of language develop, even though it was, you know, nobody wants to be told, he's basically telling us all to shut up. Um, but that's okay, you know, and sometimes he would get home from school and say, Okay, no talk, because he just wanted to be alone. And that's okay because he's advocating for himself. But other times he was just using it to be, you know, sometimes he thought it was funny because we were laughing at him, and then he would do it more. Um but yeah, okay, no talk has really evolved into uh part of his part of his thing.
SPEAKER_00That's interesting. So when he's ready to talk or ready to hear other people talk to him, does he give you a signal? Yeah, he stops saying okay, no talk.
SPEAKER_01Because, you know, um we can make it quiet for him if he really seems stressed out. But sometimes it can be sort of relentless, okay, no talk, okay, no whisper, okay, no sing, okay, no nothing. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow. My parents and grandparents always said that they could read me like a book. In your case, what signs and signals do you recognize in your own children when they're feeling challenged, upset, annoyed, and conversely, excited, safe, and confident. Okay, that's really interesting. And and he's not your only grandchild. Is he your only grandchild? That's awesome. Okay, cool. So I know that, you know, I I have um four half-brothers. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep track. I have, uh see, no, three, three half-brothers. Excuse me. I told you, it's hard to keep track. I have three half-brothers and one half-sister. And I know that for even though I've never experienced this myself, parents oftentimes have very different relationships with each of their children. And they're, you know, no two are the alike. I even teach kids that sometimes their brothers and siblings and sisters and stuff are so different from one another. I mean, you can tell they come from the same thread, but like they're very different in some ways. So when I teach, sometimes one sibling can bring out a certain side of me, and another sibling can bring out a totally different side of me and my personality, just because of the way that they they are and the way that you know we're all we all are. So what does Ben bring out in you?
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. Um, he brings out this absolutely overwhelming sense of love. Of you know, I I always say it's sort of like time traveling. Grandchildren are like time traveling because you get to spend time with Your your own children, a certain aspect of your own children when they were small. Um, he brings out just this sense of wonder. And I'm just fascinated, both on a professional level, but more so on a grandparenting, personal level. Um this wonder about this the things that he does. Like we'll we'll go up on the boardwalk down in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, where we spend a lot of time, and he'll be looking and counting all the flagpole, not the flag poles, light posts as we go. Every light post, he's pointing and he's looking, and he's walking along and he's looking. Not interested in the arcades or the ocean. He's interested in those light posts. And so I'm just so fascinated to try to figure out what is it about those light posts, you know, and I try to find the appreciation in it, and I try to understand where he's coming from that that is what interests him to the point of you know walking half a mile on the boardwalk looking at all of those light posts. So yeah, I try to immerse myself into his into his interests, be it a train set or a light post.
SPEAKER_00It's interesting because as I'm listening to you talk, I don't know the answers to this question as well. But there's a a theory in me that when a kid, especially an autistic kid, is is looking at a train set or a light post or something like that, you know, where everybody else is looking at the sunset or the water or you know, whatever, whatever piece of nature that they're they're gazing at. There's a part of me that thinks that kids that have autism are so already, they're already so deeply intertwined with the frequencies and energies of nature that it's it's so innate to them. It's it's just part, it's part of them. Just like, you know, I'm not, my hair is a part of me, my eyes are a part of me, my fingernails are a part of me. But these are things that I don't necessarily pay attention to because I they're just a part of who I am. And there's a part of me that thinks that autistic, some not maybe not all of them, but many of them are connected to nature and the earth and everything in it in such deep and profound ways that it's just it's part of who they are. So when they see something that's not that, like a light post or a train set, because that's not nature, that's something that was built and constructed in their mind because it's very curious, and it's sometimes even tactile. They're looking at it from the perspective of, I want to know how this works. How did this come together? How was this designed? How does this make sense? Why is it here like this? Why is it shaped like that? And there's a there's a part of me that's thinking that they have that that's their process of developing an appreciation for the things that you have an appreciation for, but on the other side of that.
SPEAKER_01You know, I I so agree with you. I have a deck off of my house, and he goes out there and he looks at that deck, he looks underneath the railings, he looks around the spindles, he looks at the nails and the screws that are holding the deck together. And it's we always kid around and say he's gonna be an engineer someday, maybe he will be an engineer someday. But it's just such an uh appreciation for the structure of that deck that none of us have. We just use the deck, but he's there just so deeply entrenched in the structure of that deck and has such an appreciation for it that I do agree with you 100% what you're saying.
SPEAKER_00There is I just feel like there's something there. I it's hard to put into words sometimes because you don't fully understand it yourself, but the geometry. I think it really just kind of boils down to me, I don't know, but just to the geometry of these things, looking at the angles and different shapes produce different forms of of of energy. There's a concept called sacred geometry. I would actually be curious if one day you uh pulled up a sacred geometry book, you can get them on Amazon or wherever, but if you pulled up a sacred geometry book and it had maybe some colorful pictures of different shapes and things like that, what his reaction to those shapes would be because they're supposed to be spiritual, they're supposed to be energetic, they're supposed to be, I guess in some ways, mathematical. And so I would be curious to know if there was a shape, uh, a sacred form of artwork or whatever that maybe he was drawn to energetically or whatever, and just kind of observing that behavior would be kind of interesting to see.
SPEAKER_01It would for a while there, my my daughter had art books with famous paintings and the name of artists, and she would show him that he'd be very interested in just focusing on these pieces of art, and he she would say to him, Monet, Da Vinci, you know, and he became very adept at identifying all of these pieces of art over and over again, but spending so much time looking at the piece itself in such a way that you would think that you know he was truly appreciating the depth of the artist's work. And and it is just so fascinating because I wish I could do that.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01I wish I could, I wish I could have such a um complex appreciation for a piece of artwork or the way a deck is built.
SPEAKER_00It's it's it's true. There's a there's a friend of mine and he does listen to my podcast, so I'll give you a shout-out, D V, if you're listening to this. D V is a friend of mine and he runs a space called the Squinting Room. And it's an art room where people he's he's given you the artwork that you're you know supposed to look at in preparation for the squinting room. And everybody has a conversation about it. But he's well versed in art, his creativity, his levels of creativity are off the charts. And so he can bring out some of those deeper elements and layers of a piece of artwork that a passerby definitely wouldn't notice. But somebody who wants to know more can absolutely appreciate what he's saying because when they look at the artwork through his eyes, even just for a minute, they're like, oh wow, that's something I didn't notice before, but I see it now, and that's profound. So um just want to give you a shout out, DB, for the squinting room. If anybody's interested in that, I'm happy to give you his information and I'm sure he would be delighted to have you come to his space. Jennifer has spoken about feeling an overwhelming sense of love for her grandson Ben. For grandparents, what are the key differences between the love of your own children and the love that you have for your grandchildren? And how do they intersect for you? Jennifer, as we transition into part two of this interview, I want to ask you if there's anything that you feel that grandparents should be thinking about as they navigate this process? And is there anything that, if they do think about it too much, may cause some unnecessary feelings of overwhelm?
SPEAKER_01What grandparents really need to do is to shift their expectations. When I became a grandparent, I had a wonderful grandmother myself, two wonderful grandmothers. And my vision of being a grandparent was based on what I knew was a great grandparent. And going into it, I had these expectations of what it was going to look like. And as a grandparent, I think you do yourself a great service by taking the expectations, your personal expectations, putting them aside, and shifting to the mode where you're you're showing up as sort of a presence of love, and you are providing opportunities versus expectations, and you're um letting your adult child take the lead so that you can support them as well as your grandchild. And really listening. I mean that that's don't try to impose your own views in the way you would have done it on any situation. You need to practice the art of self-restraint so that you allow the child's parents to become the experts because they are the experts and you acknowledge that and you support that in any way that you can. Well said. Yeah, that's that's what I would say.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's very well said. What's the name of your book again?
SPEAKER_01Grandparenting on the Spectrum, a journey from both sides of the desk, and it is available on Amazon and Born's and Noble. Awesome. Congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_00So, Jennifer, as we conclude part one, would you mind sharing the incident that could have turned tragic between Ben and the water?
SPEAKER_01Yes. Whenever I speak to grandparent groups or first responders, because I speak to them too, I talk about how these this is 2024 stats. 93% of accidental deaths among the autistic population are by drowning involve water. And it's just you may as well say 100%, right? It's 93%. I mean that's that's huge. And um I was telling Nikki that I always mention that in in um my speaking and podcasts because I have a personal story that goes with it. My grandson a few years ago, he eloped, and we didn't know him as an eloper at the time, but he decided to leave the house one day and go walking. They live in a water community, a beach community, and they were looking for him and they could not find him, and then the police got involved, everybody was looking for him, and they found him at the end of a dock in somebody's backyard, just looking down into the water. And it could have ended very tragically. But luckily it didn't. And luckily he has been taking swimming lessons for the past three years, and he's just about swimming. Um, but if I could give any advice, it would be to if you can afford it, get your grandchild swimming lessons.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, most definitely. When you get a child swimming lessons who has special needs, are we talking traditional swimming lessons or is there a different component to this?
SPEAKER_01Um there are a lot of swim schools out there, and some of them do have a component just for special needs for children. So, and that that's what he's enrolled in. And you know, the it's just a different approach. Uh the it's a different pacing in terms of the lessons. There are instructors that are trained to be able to support a person with autism. And yeah, highly recommend.
SPEAKER_00Okay. I did not know that. That's thank you for enlightening me. I did not, I mean, obviously I know there's swimming lessons, but I didn't know that there was a special needs component and then that there um were people who are trained specifically to deal with autistic people who are learning how to swim and things like that. Um, do you know any of the the nuances of this off chance? Like what it what does a person who's trained to work with someone who has autism in the pool like actually have to be able to do?
SPEAKER_01Well, interestingly, um my grandson, because I like to talk to the swim instructors if I go to watch him take a lesson. And um the swim, the last swim instructor he had was actually a special education teacher. I don't know offhand what if there are special certifications or what type of training is involved, but um I can always look that up and email it to you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, I appreciate that. That would be great. I can post it in the show notes and uh also in the chapter markers as well. Well, this has really been an amazing conversation. I think it's a great time for us to transition sort of into the first responder modes where we can talk about some of those shifting expectations and how to approach someone who's neurodiverse in those types of settings, especially when an emergency or a crisis could happen or is happening. So, Jennifer, I want to thank you for your time. And guys, if you're listening to this podcast, thank you again for listening to The Gentle Year. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your listening ear and putting all this, you know, being able to put all this together for you is really um a pleasure of mine. So thank you. And then also just go ahead and hit play for part two. This episode of The Gentle Year is powered by turning the tide tutoring, personalized
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Acting With Pippi
SPEAKER_00where creativity and confidence come to life on and off the stage. And now a quick message from Your Wish is your command.
SPEAKER_02It's a success system that can't fail. It's it's been called the success system that never fails. After getting your wishes or command, I went from 5k on my bank account to 8 million. In one and a half years, 90% of the people that read the secret and try to use the law of attraction or any of the training that's available from any of the other success gurus, they try to apply it, but for some reason they
Your Wish Is Your Command
SPEAKER_02don't get the results they want. And that's why they say the law of attraction is a scam. It's not really a scam, because the mind does create what you want, but there's missing ingredients to the recipe. And when they don't apply and use those missing ingredients, they're not gonna get the results anymore. I learned it properly, and that's how I created billions of dollars in sales, and now I teach this to others, and everyone who's using it is getting spectacular to it. Your wish is your command is really what started her off. At the time, I didn't even have a job. Today I make about a quarter million dollars. I bought a Porsche, I manifested a Rolex, I manifested the home of my dreams, I got a hold of your wish is your command, and after I finished it, my life changed. My income doubled.
SPEAKER_00Thank you again for listening to The Gentle Year. I'm your host, Nikki Hernandez, and all of the links to Turning the Tide Tutoring, Acting with Hippy, and Your Wishes, Your Command are in the show notes. If you have any questions at all or would like to be a guest on the show, please email me at turning the tide tutoring LLC at gmail.com.