Dad To Dad 440 – Jerod Garland of Pella, IA An 8th Grade History Teacher, Author and Father Of Three Including One With Down Syndrome

Transcript:

Gerard Garland writes about parenting daughter with Down Syndrome on Father’s Network podcast

Gerard Garland: We’ve done toss and bike ride and running and javelin throw. Nerf, javelin throw. And so she’s taken part in many things and she comes home and she’s happy. She wears the medals, you know, all day. We got this little spot by her bed where we hang them all up and there’s actually no room anymore. So I had an idea to start hanging them somewhere else, and she shot that down. She wants them all right there.

David Hirsch: So that’s our guest this week, Gerard Garland, an eighth grade teacher in Pella, Iowa, and author and father of three girls, including Kayla, 17, who has Down Syndrome. Gerard has written a book, Shovels and A Father’s Journey Parenting a Spirited Daughter with Down Syndrome, now available on Amazon. We’ll hear all about Jerrod and his life on this special Father’s Network Dad to Dad Podcast.

David Hirsch: Dad to the dad, you’re not on your own. We walk this road together, hard and whole.

David Hirsch hosts the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast

David Hirsch: Hi, I’m David Hirsch, host of the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast. Two brief messages. First, I’m thrilled to announce our new book, Dads Raising Children with Special Needs and Disabilities. A Guide for 21st Century Dads is now available on Audible, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other sites. Second, the Special Fathers Network US tour, a month long 50 state 60 plus stop tour, took place from May 21 to June 21. Mission accomplished. It was quite a journey with hundreds of new connections which will have a ripple effect for months and years to come. Thank you to the following partners, Gigi’s Playhouses, John’s Crazy Socks, Rotary Club, Chicago, and Special Olympics. Thanks. Also the 60 plus venue hosts, which included 12 Special Olympics state offices and 15 of the 62 JG’s playhouses. Special thanks to the RV crew mentioned here in order of appearance. Zane Kooks, Andrew McDowell, Nelson Raskoon, Charlie Hirsch and Steve Harris. You guys were amazing. And special thanks to all those who offered their prayers and provided financial support. This was clearly a team effort.

David Hirsch: Every season, in every stride, great dads are present. 247365.

David Hirsch: Now, let’s listen into this conversation between Gerard Garland and David Hirsch.

Jarrad Garland is father of three girls, including one with down syndrome

David Hirsch: For the record, we’re at Gigi’s Playhouse in Des Moines, Iowa, and it’s day number four of the SFN US tour, a 30 day 50 state 60 plus stop tour to strengthen the SFN and distribute complimentary copies of the new book Dads Raising Children with Special Needs and Disabilities, a guide for 21st Century Dads. I’m thrilled to be talking today with Gerard Garland of Pella Iowa, who’s an 8th grade history teacher, author, and most importantly, father of three girls, including one with down syndrome. Jarrad, thank you for taking the time to do an interview for the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast.

Gerard Garland: Appreciate it, David. And honestly, I feel pretty honored to be part of this with everything you’ve done and are doing. So, yeah, thanks a lot.

David Hirsch: You and your wife Leah have been married for 19 years, are the proud parents of three girls, Zoe, 11, Elena, 14, and Kayla, 17, who has down syndrome. Let’s start with some background. Where did you grow up? Tell me something about your family.

Gerard Garland: All right, so I grew up in small town Iowa, a town called Eldora, about 3,000. my parents divorced when I was too young to remember, so I don’t remember going through anything like that. But I would say I got the benefit of growing up with two dads who both think fill different roles in my life and grew up with a stepdad who taught me a lot about hard work and how to do things well. And my dad was somebody who lived about 45 minutes away, but he would drive every weekend to watch me in sports. We’d go there every other weekend. So I feel pretty grateful that I had two Fowlers that I knew loved me very well.

David Hirsch: So, how would you describe your relationship with your dad and then, perhaps differently, your stepdad?

Gerard Garland: Yeah, I think my stepdad, he was kind of a disciplinarian in the family, and so. And I knew he loved me. I never questioned that. he was a construction worker for many years. And so some of that, maybe love or at least being willing to talk about that, came a little bit later in life with him. But it was super meaningful and never question it. And then my dad was more, I’d say less of a disciplinarian because I was there for about two days every two weekends. But I learned a lot about sports. He was kind of the one who taught me a lot about sports and card games and board games. And, so, again, I always knew he loved me as well. So, yeah, I guess different roles in my life.

David Hirsch: What are the most important takeaways when you think about your relationship with your dad or your stepdad? Maybe a lesson learned.

Gerard Garland: I was often given tasks that were challenging to do, and I can think of one where there was a whole lot of wood to move from one place to the next. We’re talking a closet full of wood, he said, that needs to be outside against the garage in a couple days.

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Gerard Garland: At the time, I wasn’t too happy about it, to be honest with you. But I look back and I see it. He gave me a chance to show some responsibility, a chance to, I think, grow some confidence even in myself. But I can see him just giving me opportunities to do things and to accomplish things.

David Hirsch: I’m thinking about other father figures. I’m wondering what role if any of your grandfathers played.

Gerard Garland: Yeah, my mom’s father passed away six months before I was born, so I didn’t really know him. I would say that I had one grandpa that I was close to. And, he lived across the street for a while in my house. And he was just always somebody that I would call him. Just a big loving grandpa. Ah, Again, not somebody I would never. Well, let me back up here, I guess. I did have my mouth washed once for swearing when I was little, but he usually wasn’t one that would discipline me. It was more, we’re going to go over to Grandpa and Grandma’s house and maybe play cards or watch TV over there. but just, again, I knew that he always loved me, so he was just a nice, steady hand in my life.

David Hirsch: Got it. I’m thinking about other men who might have played an influential role, and I’m wondering if there’s anybody else that comes to mind.

Gerard Garland: Yeah, I had some coaches. I moved right before eighth grade, and the first two people that I thought about, I went upstairs in my room. I laid on the floor of my room on the carpet. I looked up at the ceiling and I started crying right before eighth grade. And I thought about a coach I wasn’t going to get to have for high school. I coached my dad. I thought about a teacher, but I was really sad to leave. So I think from a young age there was teachers and their coaches that were mentors. And then when I became a young teacher, there was a teacher at the school who became my mentor teacher and really poured into me a lot.

David Hirsch: Who was that?

Gerard Garland: His name is Karl Korver.

David Hirsch: So what type of influence did he have?

Gerard Garland: I think just generosity comes to mind when I think of him and just encouragement. He’s kind of like a Barnabas. Just wants everybody to, I think, feel valued, treasured. And, he sold me a. Ah, this is probably three years ago. He sold me a truck for $1 so I could sell it for 4,000. in a situation, a time when it was really helpful for our family. So that’s just the kind of guy he is.

David Hirsch: Okay, well, thank God for the Carls, of the world.

Gerard Garland: Yep. For sure.

David Hirsch: We all benefit from that.

You have a master’s degree in educational leadership from Drake University

So my understanding is you have a master’s degree in educational, leadership from Drake University, and you’ve been a career educator. And what was it that prompted, you to pursue an education career?

Gerard Garland: You know, when I went to college, my first year, I was going to be a sports journalist. I think Sports Illustrated was my career path, my dream. And then my freshman year of college, I think some things were changing. One, a love for history, and two, a growth in my faith. And I just wanted to have a little more impact on people. And for me, it was just being around athletes and students. I felt like that was a way I could maybe impact more people. And so that switched paths and obviously been there ever since. And I actually just had a career change again just about four days ago. I’m now moving to the middle school athletic director role and student success corner. So I’m leaving the classroom, hanging up the whistle, and changing roles a little bit. My school.

David Hirsch: Holy moly. Well, good luck in that new role.

Gerard Garland: Thanks.

How did you and Leah meet? He was a blind date

David Hirsch: I want to switch gears, and I’m sort of curious to know. How did you and, Leah meet?

Gerard Garland: He was a blind date. I was an assistant coach for one of her high school friends.

David Hirsch: Dad.

Gerard Garland: She had lived out north. My wife had lived out in North Carolina for a few years after college with a few of her girlfriends and kind of felt like it was time to settle down and she was gonna move back to Iowa. And so my head coach’s daughter said, hey, I have a friend moving back. What do you think about going on a blind date with her? And I was like, sure. I was having a lot of fun in my 20s. I had some great friends and just grilling out Friday nights and going to game, you know, everything you wanted to do. So I wasn’t necessarily, like, seeking, but I grieved for a blind date, and it didn’t bomb. It went really well. And we started to obviously continue dating, and here we are today.

David Hirsch: That’s awesome. I’m so glad to hear that and to meet your wife and family as well.

Kayla was diagnosed with down syndrome during delivery

So, let’s talk about special needs. prior to having children, did you or Leah have any connection to the disability or special needs community?

Gerard Garland: Yeah, I would say not really. I think maybe we knew a few people here and there, and I would say we both kind of have a heart to. Of, compassion. But I would say no, not. Not really.

David Hirsch: Okay, so what is Kayla’s, diagnosis and how did it come about?

Gerard Garland: So Kayla is diagnosed with down syndrome. And it was not something that we knew ahead of time. And just doing some research on this, I think there’s about 10 to 15% of people who. It is a. It’s a delivery room surprise. Most people do know, and they’re prepared ahead of time maybe to, to go through that emotional. Okay, before it happens. And for us, Kayla was born and the doctor had to rush out to some other situation. And I took a look at her and it felt like there’s some. Some features maybe that I wasn’t sure about. You know, I guess people think I’m awful for this, but I just never thought babies looked very cute when they’re born. No offense to, anybody who loves babies, but. So I looked at her, I was like, okay. But then after a few minutes passed, I thought, I don’t know, is that,

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Gerard Garland: that, Is that normal? I looked a little bit closer and, and. But nobody said anything to us. And, you know, they put Kayla in Leah’s arms right away, and the nurses are out the door, you know, after a few minutes and I’m looking at her and I thought, I don’t, I don’t know. I had this feeling that kind of started to grow in my. In my stomach, in my inner being. Like, I don’t know. and at the time I would call almost like a sinking feeling, and I mentioned something to Leah, and she was kind of internally having some of the same thoughts. And later on, the nurses came back in. The doctor came back in and said, you know, some nurses thought that there’s maybe some features of down syndrome. And so we want to do a blood test to make sure of that, but the results aren’t going to come in for six more days.

David Hirsch: Oh, geez.

Gerard Garland: And so we’re in this awkward, I guess, position of waiting. And when we look back now, we kind of joke about this now. We look back now and we look at the picture, we’re like, how could we have even questioned? You know? But I think at the time, and we were. There was a, I guess a feeling of this is a sinking feeling. And where there should have been maybe happiness for having your first kid, enjoying. There was a little, like, fear and apprehension in my heart thinking about the prospects of having a child with special needs for my whole life. And fast forward six days, I guess we’re still maybe holding out hope. I don’t know. And hope’s a really awful, used word there that maybe this wasn’t the deal. But the phone call came. I came home from school and Leah was crying, right. when I walked in. And I knew that she got the call that, yes, Kayla does have down syndrome. And my memory of that day is just meeting each other in the kitchen and hugging. And I think, honestly, we just fell down to the floor. We were just. We were crying, just thinking about how difficult this was going to be and how hard our life was going to be and how hard our daughter’s life was going to be. And looking back now, like, we should have been crying tears of joy with how Kayla’s today, but the time, it was really hard. It was a crushing diagnosis.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, thank you for your, authenticity and transparency. it’s real. Right. You were describing the, thoughts and feelings that you had, and, that’s natural. Right. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight, you’d say it didn’t need to be that way.

David Hirsch: Right.

David Hirsch: But it was. So thank you again.

Your family was there to support you through your difficult first week

Was there some meaningful advice you got early on that helped put things in perspective and put you on the path you are today?

Gerard Garland: I know everybody supported us very well. My mom, my dad, everybody in our family, mom, step mom, and dad. They all just were there loving us. This first week, that was. We’re still kind of, I think in shock, maybe a little bit of everything, and just daunting thinking about the future, and they were there to love us. And maybe just simple words like, you know, we’re here, and you’re going to get through this.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, the support that you’re describing, you know, to have family nearby is critical. Right. Not everybody has family or nearby, for that matter. So it’s a blessing not to focus on the negative.

What were some of the biggest challenges that you’ve encountered with Kelly

But what were some of the biggest challenges that you’ve encountered, to date? Kelly’s only 17.

Gerard Garland: Once we get that diagnosis, the hard thing was thinking about the dreams that we thought our kid was going to have and all the things that we were hoping and expecting our kid would have. And I guess metaphorically just bearing those dreams like they’re gone, they’re done. I know everybody’s supporting us. Never going to do this, this. This xyz, you know, as a coach, dad. They all just were there. Would love to have a daughter who would be competitive, too. We’re still kind of looking now, Kayla. We just hung up for 30 years. Metal she had this week. She’s competitive.

David Hirsch: Yeah.

Gerard Garland: We had, a softball toss this week, so she loves that. Get through this. I’m just going back to your question. I guess thinking that everything was done, all these hopes we had, and then realizing as she’s grown up, I think the delays were Hard. The walking, the talking. Those are a couple big ones. You know, you want your kid to be progressing. And it just took a. It took a while for those things to happen. delays in school, delays reading. So those things were hard, I think, for us.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, thanks again for being open and transparent.

What impact have these challenges had on the siblings, uh, your marriage

What impact have these challenges had on, the siblings, your marriage, or the extended family, for that matter?

Gerard Garland: Yeah, we’ll start with the marriage first. I think one of the things that I learned is that we’re not always to be on the same path of kind of acceptance of everything. And she is often, I like to say she powers her sun to my clouds sometimes with her positivity. And so sometimes I was just dragging along, whether it was, like, emotionally accepting things or being okay with delays. So we weren’t on the same path. So I would just. If any dad or mom’s listening to this, it’s okay if you’re not on the same path right away. you’ll get there at some point. so it’s really helpful, though, that we’re on the same page. We’re doing this together. We’re in this together. We’re in it through the highs and the lows. The delays and the joys and the successes were in this together. And so it was just. I’m very grateful to have a wife who was in that with me from the beginning. So siblings. She’s

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Gerard Garland: She’s got two siblings, and I’d say at this point, the relationships aren’t quite the same between the siblings. She had a really hard time accepting her new sister, Eliana, when, Eliana was born, because she know how to share. Share all the love and share the attention from parents and families, and that was really hard for her. And there might have been some scratch faces and pushing down steps and things like that. but today they’re super close, and it’s great to see them and dancing together and singing together. And, Zoe and her are a little more like oil and water right now. But, we know that there’s good times coming up ahead with that, too.

David Hirsch: And the extended family.

Gerard Garland: Yeah, extended family has been super supportive, and that’s what’s helped make this, journey great. Grandma, for example, has brought Kayla to Gigi’s many times over the years, especially when she was young. And that was great just for Kayla to see kids who look like her, sound like her, and just have this place where she can come play and kind of at her own pace. So that was great. So Graham was supportive, and aunts and Uncles, have all honestly played a role in helping us. Whether it’s maybe taking her for a couple hours or just loving on her.

David Hirsch: Yeah, that’s fabulous.

David Hirsch: We’ll be back with more of the conversation on the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast in just a few moments. But first, this quick message. Please help 21st Century Dads gather research on families raising children with special needs by having them complete the Special Fathers Network Early Intervention Parents survey. A link to the survey can be found in the show notes. As a token of our appreciation, each person, mom or dad, who completes the survey will receive a great dad coin. Thank you.

Kayla started taking part in Special Olympics after being diagnosed with autism

Now back to the conversation.

David Hirsch: So I’m thinking about supporting organizations. You made reference to Gigi’s and we’re actually here at Gigi’s recording this episode. Obviously they’ve had an impact, any other organizations that come to mind that have had a positive impact, on either Kayla or your family.

Gerard Garland: Yeah, I don’t know if I call this an organization necessarily, but the state provides so many things for you. And early on they were helping with even, physical development and especially the area. AEA has been super helpful sending people our house and helping just track her development and helping work with her in various areas. So, yeah, Gigi’s at AEA have been the two organizations that have helped the

David Hirsch: most as Special Olympics played a role.

Gerard Garland: Yeah, yeah, it’s been great. And I remember the first one, we grew up and kind of just I had a little tea and I coached one year bad softball. And then we had a little tea in the basement with a ball and a bat and we would do that a lot. That was our kind of our way to connect. Sometimes with Kayla and I, we’d go down the basement and she would swing the bat and she got really good at that. And so just growing up playing sports a lot, I think was part of her upbringing. And sometimes outside we’d go and play a little wiffle ball outside. And so the opportunity came for her to start to take part in Special Olympics. And it was kind of a no brainer. Let’s do this. And she was on board and had just a blast the first day we did it. And over the years it’s kind of transitioned to a few different events. No swimming yet, but we’ve done toss and bike ride and running and javelin throw, Nerf javelin throw. And so she’s taking part in many things and she comes home and she, she’s happy. She wears the medals, you know, all day. We got this little spot by her bed, where we hang them all up, and there’s actually no room anymore, so I had an idea to start hanging them somewhere else. And she shot that down. She wants them all right there, so. But she’s loved that. And it’s. Honestly, it’s fun to go and. And she is an athlete, you know, and that’s one of those dreams that we thought we had to Barry when we found out her diagnosis. And it turns out we dug that one back up.

David Hirsch: I love it.

Your upcoming book is titled Shovels and Spades

So let’s switch gears and, talk about your book, the title of which is Shovels and Spades, which came out in 2025. Let’s, start with the title. What’s the symbolism? What does it represent to you personally? And what do you hope readers take away from that metaphor?

Gerard Garland: Yeah, you know, there’s so many good books out there, and there’s some on advocacy and data, and, you know, honestly, I’m not smart enough to do that stuff, so I just thought, I’m going to write a book about stories, and maybe some dads can read it and relate to things. Maybe it can prepare them a little bit for what’s coming up ahead. And so I’ve kind of hinted a little bit about it, but it’s. It’s totally a metaphor. And the shovels part is. Is bearing those dreams we thought were gone forever for Kayla and packing them down and thinking those are never coming back up. And then the spades part is hopefully some hope for parents. And, you know, when I wrote it, I was thinking maybe a dad who just found out a diagnosis or, maybe they’re two or three years into it just to give them hope that, hey, some of those things are going to come back up. And so the second half, the spades is digging those dreams you thought were dead, bringing them back up, like the athlete part. And you know what? Some of the dreams aren’t coming back up. They’re just not. And that’s okay. But some we’ve had to dig back up, and it’s been a lot of fun. So I guess the overall

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Gerard Garland: goal is just I want it to be real and sometimes raw, I think, because it was hard for us, and I didn’t want to sugarcoat anything. If I was going to write a book, I want it to be, you know, warts and all. And so there are some hard things, and that’s the shovel, but there’s a lot of good things. And that’s the spade part.

David Hirsch: Yeah, I love the metaphor.

So what inspired you to write the book

So what inspired you to write the book. And was there a particular experience or moment that was the catalyst?

Gerard Garland: I don’t know if there’s any certain moment. We actually started doing a blog before Kayla was born, and it was all about our excitement for having this new child. And. And when Kayla was born, we kept the blog going for a couple years, I think, and then life got busy and now it’s a once a year Christmas card is kind of what it is now. But, so we had some writing, and even the first couple years of Kayla’s life, we wanted it to be read by somebody who possibly was in our same position. So even the seed back then was like, we want this to maybe be something that could help people. And then I think we should get about 14 years old, 15 years old. I thought we have a lot of things already written down, and there’s a lot of things that have happened since then. You know, what, what if I put this into a book and what if some m. Dad picked it up who was struggling like I was, and maybe this could be something that could get him through the finish line or be encouraging to him.

David Hirsch: You know, I’m very grateful that you took the time to do it.

What were some of the hardest lessons you learned while writing the book

What were some of the hardest lessons you learned while writing the book, either from an emotional, spiritual, or professional perspective?

Gerard Garland: Every time I look at her, she’s putting her hand, in her face because she gets to embarrass her dad sometimes. So I’d say it was. Some things are hard to go back and read over. So especially thinking about the diagnosis, writing that chapter about when we found out that that was pretty hard to relive that. But also knowing where she’s at now and just thinking back, if I could just tell myself of 17 years ago, what’s going to happen in 17 years, you know, I would not be so sad at the time. And so that kind of fueled me. Can I. Can I be that person for somebody in that spot? But I think it was. It was fun actually, looking back through some of her victories and just to see how she has been an overcomer. So looking back, it’s been more, fun to write than hard to write. There’s been a couple hard parts. You know, there’s a part where, you know, her first. First time running a race, there was a pity clap. And that was hard for me at first to listen to the pity clap for one of my daughters. But I quickly overcame that and by the end of the race, I had a lot of pride. so just think, thinking back, things like that, it was really Helpful. Also just seeing areas where I need to grow as a person, myself, like my own impatience or my own whatever you want to say. Like, she’s helped me grow as a person. And as I wrote the book, I realized how she’s maybe a better dad and a better person because I am impatient and at times unkind if I’m impatient. And so it’s helped me see my own growth too. And that’s been a lot of fun to read. I think, just spiritually seeing how faith is a big part of our life and not to go too deep, because I don’t know where everybody’s at that’s listening to this. But, faith’s been a huge part of our life. And there was a time when we had somebody pray for us before Kayla was even born. And kind of the message they thought they were getting was, I, choose you. And so that’s been something that’s been in our minds every time. Things have gotten really hard. Those early years especially, we kept thinking, okay, we were chosen. We were chosen. And that’s something that’s helped us, I think, get through this too. But, yeah, all in all, writing the book was a really positive and fun process, time consuming. A lot of times Kayla would come in. Are you done with the book yet? No, not yet. I got like, halfway done, so. Sorry.

David Hirsch: It was like a taskmaster.

Gerard Garland: Come on, come on, come on.

David Hirsch: Any unexpected reactions to the book, positive or negative?

Gerard Garland: It’s been pretty positive. It’s been good. And we put a little in the back of the book. We said we’d love to connect with you if you want. And so we put a little shovelspadesbookmail.com address back there. And there’s been, I think, three or four people that have written in. And that’s really, really fun to hear that. And a, couple dads have said this really helped. You know, my daughter’s really younger, my son’s really young, and this has been helpful. So that’s what it’s all for. You know, I knew this isn’t a New York Times bestseller. The target audience is really small. But the goal is if I could help one dad get through something, whether it’s whatever special need it is, then that was worth it.

David Hirsch: I love it. Thanks for sharing.

So thinking about advice now, and I’m wondering what advice can you offer dad

So thinking about advice now, and I’m wondering, what advice can you offer dad? maybe who’s close to the beginning of his journey?

Gerard Garland: Yeah, it’s. It’s a long journey. There’s two steps forward, one step back. It’s going to happen A lot. Don’t be afraid to call people, to rely on people, to lean on people. We weren’t made to, go about this life alone, especially special needs journey alone. So use the people in your life that you have, friends, family. And then have patience, because it does get better. There’s a time when Kayla was spitting up all the time, all over, hitting every part of our carpet.

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Gerard Garland: And that was, I didn’t think we were ever going to get out of that phase. And we did. There’s a time when she wouldn’t sleep and we had to try to put this seatbelt over her face. And, man, she didn’t like that. And it was all of, probably three weeks before we could keep it on her for five minutes. Were we ever going to get out of that phase? And we did. So time passes. You’ll get out of whatever hard thing is going on, but relying on people is probably the biggest thing I’d say.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Great advice. Thank you.

You’ve agreed to be a mentor father for the Special Fathers Network

So why is it you’ve agreed to be a mentor father as part of the Special Fathers Network?

Gerard Garland: Because I would have wanted one when I was younger and I just didn’t know where to look. You know, we live in a pretty small town right now. Petala is about 10,000, and there’s not a whole lot of other people. I will, mention, a couple named Dave and Jen, who had a Down syndrome daughter, probably about four or five years older than Kayla. And early on in our time with Kayla, they invited us over for supper and we went over there and they were just super honest, super real with us. and it felt really refreshing just to talk to somebody who knew what it was like, who knew what it was like to have some of the emotions that we had. And they just laid it out on the line force. And that was just refreshing. And I thought, if I could do that for anybody, I would love to do that. Yeah.

David Hirsch: Ah, well, thank God for the Dave and Jen’s of the world.

Gerard Garland: Yes, for sure.

Jared is part of the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast

David Hirsch: M. So is there anything else you’d like to say before we wrap up?

Gerard Garland: Oh, just thanks for the opportunity. You know, I can’t wait for Kayla to keep growing. She’s 17, she’s already smashed through some barriers, and we’re thinking about the next phase in life with her. I don’t know. She went to a dance the other night. The nice pretty dress. She’s talking about boys. Is she gonna get married? Like, there’s so many question marks.

David Hirsch: I think she mentioned she has a boyfriend, if I’m not mistaken.

Gerard Garland: She might have met somebody here, actually at this GG’s probably in the same room named Aiden. So we don’t know.

David Hirsch: There’s a lot of.

Gerard Garland: Just like when we were, 17 years ago, we didn’t know the next three years were going to be like, she’s 17. We don’t know what the next three years are going to be like now. So just, it’s a journey and I’m excited for it. We can’t wait. She’s got two great sisters, a great mom, great family, an average dad who sometimes is above average, and we just can’t wait to keep loving on her.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, that’s fabulous. let’s give a special shout out to John, Claes and our friends at Gigi’s Playhouse for helping connect us.

Gerard Garland: It’s been an awesome place. So thank you so much, John. And the event a few months ago was amazing and we look forward to more events like that.

David Hirsch: If somebody wants to contact you, what’s the best way to do?

Gerard Garland: So let’s just go with the email that’s in the book. Shovelinspadesbookmail.com shovelandspadesbookmail.com we’ll be sure to include

David Hirsch: that in the show notes. It’ll make it as easy as possible for somebody to follow up. Jared, thank, you for your time and many insights. As a reminder, Jared is just one of the dads who’s part of the Special Fathers Network, a mentoring program for fathers raising a child with special needs. If you’d like to be a mentor father or are seeking advice from a mentor father with a similar situation to your own, please go to 21st centurydads.org thank you for listening to the latest episode of the Special Fathers Network dad of dad Podcast. I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. As you probably know, the 21st Century Dads foundation is a 501c3 not for profit organization, which means we need your help to keep our content free to all concerned. Would you please consider making a text deductible contribution? I would really appreciate your support, Jarrett. Thanks again.

Gerard Garland: Thanks again, David.

David Hirsch: Appreciate it.

David Hirsch: Dad to the dad. You’re not on your own. We walk this road together, heart and whole.

David Hirsch: And thank you for listening to the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast. The Special Fathers Network is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Through our personalized matching process, new fathers with special needs children match up with mentor fathers in a similar situation. It’s a great way for dads to support other dads. To find out more, go to 21st

David Hirsch: centurydads.org and if you’re a, dad looking for help or would like to offer help, we would be honored to have you join our closed Facebook group. Please go to facebook.com groups and search dad to dad. Lastly, we’re always looking to share interesting stories. If you’d like to share your story or know of a compelling story, please send an email to david2stcenturydads.org the dad

David Hirsch: to dad Podcast theme was written and performed by Shane Madden. The show is produced by me, Tom Couch. Tune in again next week for another intriguing conversation on the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast.

David Hirsch: Through every season, in every stride, great dads are present. 473-6524-7365.

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