Riding the Waves of Life and Motherhood
Life, I’ve come to learn, rarely follows a perfect script. When I was just 20, my family doctor told me something pretty significant: if I wanted to have kids, it needed to happen soon, or getting pregnant naturally might be really tough. Coming from young parents myself, and at a time when I was really focused on traveling and figuring out my own creative path, I quietly accepted that kids probably weren’t in my future. I even pretended to be fine with it, a little trick I played on myself to avoid what I knew would be a big heartbreak.
Fourteen years have passed since then, each one adding a new layer to my story. I’m now married to someone I feel incredibly lucky to have met when we did, in our late twenties. Thinking about having kids with my past partners now feels completely unreal, just goes to show how much things change. My first pregnancy, a truly unexpected and amazing gift, happened at just the right time, like it was meant to be. It wasn’t just a big event; it totally reshaped who I am. My dad once told me, while I was pregnant with my son, that being a parent is the only way to truly understand love. I didn’t believe him back then. But now? Now, I get it. A piece of your heart, a tiny part of your soul, is out there, walking around in this big, unpredictable world. It’s incredibly scary. But it’s also such a powerful experience, it’s hard to explain unless you’ve lived it yourself is the honest truth, also just to be clear I know this feeling is for all parents not just birthing ones.
Motherhood, surprisingly, has felt very natural to me. Looking back, there were clear signs even when I was a kid. My mom often talks about how, in daycare and preschool, I’d always be with the baby dolls, playing mom. The teachers would often ask if I had younger siblings, and my mom would just laugh, explaining it was just me at home. For a long time, I think I was in denial about how well I connect with kids. It took until I was 25, working at the Ottawa School of Art summer camps, for me to finally realize I had a special way with the little ones. Before that, I’d mostly worked with older adults and teenagers—other groups of people I still really enjoy working with today.
So, here’s the latest: in May 2025, we found out we’re expecting our second! This pregnancy hasn’t been the easiest, especially with how busy we are getting Maman-Loup’s, our family business, ready to open. It really feels like life gives you either nothing or everything all at once, and these past months have definitely been the “everything” kind. I’m due early next year and I’m so excited about it. I have to say, years ago, all this would have felt totally overwhelming. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that life is all about timing, and you just have to go with the flow. Sometimes the waters are calm, and sometimes you end up in rapids. Having a good community around you, one that you build yourself, is the key to getting through stressful times like what I’m in right now.
One thing I’ve found really hard, but also know I need to keep working on, is having complete trust in myself and my journey. I’ve worked incredibly hard in ways no one else sees to get to a point where I fully trust myself. If something doesn’t work out, it just means the path is taking an even better route. There’s a lot of new beginnings and trust happening in my life, and I’m very grateful for the experience. Opening our family business this June has been amazing so far. We really want to focus on “for artists, by artists” values and create a welcoming space for creative people. And finally, it’s a place for my own art to live, to make cool things, and to work with others.
Aimée
Alexandre Aimée 
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