03/31/2026
🥹🎉💛 Sunset Letter to my PHENOMENAL LISTEN AND LEARN Families!
March 20th, 2026
Hi Parents!
I hope each one of you all are doing very well.
I typically say I have no words and then I write a novel… please bear with me here…
Last week, through tears, I shared with your teens that our last sessions in our teen social group
will be at the close of the school year in May 2026. I informed each of them that I have actively
started my retirement process. The time has come.
When I moved to Georgia from Louisiana, 16 years ago, I had a few thoughts on my mind. I wanted a better life for Megan and me. I wanted her to have the option to grow up in an
environment that would not stunt her growth. You’d be elated to know that Megan is on the
management team and she is the top seller at her store! She is also actively training to become
a certified yoga master at her yoga training site. She has traveled to yoga retreats in Georgia,
Arizona, and Colorado, and she has plans to travel internationally in the future.
While in Louisiana, I realized that I wanted to be around a population of diverse people. The
people in the communities in Louisiana were either black or white, and honestly, I was tired of
looking at that. I wanted something new and fresh. But above all this, I wanted to start a program, helping children unlock their greatest potential all while having fun. All of these things were on my heart when I made that long drive from Louisiana to Georgia 16 years ago. It is safe to say that all of my heart’s desires were fulfilled, and that is all thanks to God, you, and your children.
Collectively, you all made Listen and Learn LLC thrive! Your children have shaped me into a
superior educator. Over the past 16 years, I’ve connected with thousands of children in their
classrooms, homes, therapy sessions, summer camp programs, churches, parties, and more. Our program has expanded to another state for business, and we have reached a global audience via our podcast, with listeners in over 70 countries. Because of you all, I’ve been able to create a legacy that will last a lifetime. Thank you is simply not enough from me to you. There are not enough words that I can gather to express my gratitude and appreciation to each and every one of you for your support over this past decade plus. There just aren’t enough words.
Your teens responded well to the news of my retirement. Some were emotional like me. I was
met with some sighs of sadness from them. There was a bit of anxiety through silence from
others. There was laughter and jokes from some surrounding the news. Embedded in those
responses was a level of happiness and curiosity about what is next for me and our group. The
teens were so mature and handled the news much better than I delivered it to them at that moment. I commended them for doing so well over the past several years.
I was met with the following questions from them:
Question 1: “Ms. Cynthia- I want you to know that you are the most wonderful person in the
world. I know you have been doing this for a long time. Is that the reason you are retiring or will
you be doing something else?”
My response in short: “Thank you so much for those kind words. I’ve been working with children for almost 30 years. I wanted to retire a little early so that I can travel the world with good health. I’ll plan on building our L and L podcast up as we move forward.”
Question 2: “So you are retiring, retiring??”
My response: “Yes, I am. If I don’t retire now, you all will grow up more, graduate college, start
your careers, get married, start your families, and all of your kids will be coming to my social group!” This response was met with much laughter from us all.
Question 3: “What about connecting with other children?”
My response: “This has been challenging to let go of because I had a waiting list for students to join our social group, but I had to refer them to other programs because I stopped accepting
new students a while ago. It takes time to build a positive and trustworthy relationship with
parents and students. I didn’t want to start working with new families only to have to retire from
them after one year.” I also shared with them that at some capacity, I am an extension of you all’s families. They all agreed and cheered. I shared with them that you all have supported my business without fail. You all have never defied my trust, and you all have believed in me and supported me as I supported your children. I knew how great your children would be when I saw their little faces for the first time in their Pre-K classes! To see them now in college, preparing for
college, or soaring through high school is simply amazing! I told them we’ve all shed tears over the years, and I’m sure they’ve been mad at me a time or two or three in the past, but we made it through those challenging moments, and now we can laugh about them and celebrate- which
we did. I took each teen down memory lane, sharing hilarious moments of them from the past.
They called these moments “legendary”, and to that I said “Legendary indeed!”
One student commented that he would miss “hanging out with everyone each week.” We all agree on this.
Question 4: “Will you still be based in Mississippi?” (This teen meant Missouri.) :)
My response: “Yes, my LLCs will remain active as I will be doing other projects under them.”
Question 5: The final question and the question that I feel carries the most weight, came from a
teen who asked me,
“What happens to our L and L group text chat, and will we still meet for
social groups?”
My response: “Our L and L group text chat will stay as it is. You all are always free to exit the group at any time, however it is my hope that you will stay. I would love for you all to tap in from time to time with messages and stay connected with photos of the great things you are doing. As far as us meeting up, if everyone is in town and you message the chat to meet for lunch, and
everyone can make it, we will do it!” I explained that life doesn’t stop when you turn 18. As a matter of fact, that’s when it truly begins and more questions will arise. I told them to always reach out to their parents first to get advice on anything they need, and I shared that I’ll always be around if they want to chat. They have my direct number. I explained to them that my young adult students reach out to me once or twice a year to catch me up on how they are doing in life, and to check on me. Your teens found comfort in that, and so did I.
So, what’s next? The April and May 2026 schedules will come out soon. They will include our remaining sessions. I am working on scheduling one last in person social group for May 2nd from 10a-12p. Our last Listen and Learn Virtual Teen Social Group will sunset on Thursday May 14th from 5p-6p. I know the month of May is extremely busy for us all with graduations, birthdays, school performances, end of school year activities, etc. If for some reason, we can’t meet on these days, we will work to plan a day for the teens to get together one last time before the school year ends.
As for me personally, I’ll travel more this summer to work on my quest to visit all 50 states. I have 15 states remaining! I’m also studying to obtain my boating certification as I begin my journey to learn how to sail.
Through tears of joy and love, I extend my greatest THANKS to each of you.
Thank you… for everything…
Cynthia
P.S. I’ll still be available to attend all IEP meetings or any advocacy meetings… forever! :) Just
give me a call to let me know when they are!
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