Wrote it, spoke it out loud in the previous blog post and the Universe delivered something unexpected on September 13, 2023. Which I shared with the community of people I am connected with on LinkedIn:
Life is unpredictable. I’m sure you’ve felt this at some point. One moment your day is going one way and then things change in an instant.
Trigger warning: On my drive home from the daycare I was working from, where I had joined the virtual government roundtable I posted about, my car was hit at an intersection.
I was driving with my toddler on the way to school pickup for our older two kids. Luckily I was the only one injured, our car has been towed and is done, but that is a minor problem which can be solved.
The mother in front of me also had her 2.5 year old toddler with her but thankfully they are fine. She ran out to help me, as did an off duty nurse and other bystanders before the first responders arrived.
Within 10 minutes, we had a stuffed toy panda from the firefighters for my son and were in the back of an ambulance feeding the kids, doing the police report and health checks.
My husband was able to get the kids before school closed, the neighbours made them dinner and looked after them, grandparents drove into the city to help us. Work has been rescheduled, appointments have been made, life for the next while is being adjusted.
I will be offline to sort out things related to the accident but I wanted to share that life is fragile and never in our complete control.
I try to be as present and intentional as I can be in each moment with my life, work and family. I’m thankful to kind strangers and a supportive community when moments like these happen.
Earlier that very same day before driving home with our toddler, I had shared:
Looks like a boardroom but today I’m at my youngest son’s daycare, which has a coworking space for parents. Living my dreams out loud!
I just finished attending a virtual roundtable with Senator Colin Deacon, Independent Senator from Nova Scotia and entrepreneur, hosted by Startup Canada’s Natasha Hope Morano, to discuss the federal procurement process for entrepreneurs, current challenges and ideas for future solutions and improvements.
While the session was private and won’t be shared publicly, I can tell you I spoke for three minutes during the daycare centre’s naptime, with some baby and toddler noises in the background.
I shared my experiences delivering professional services as a sole proprietor working with program leaders who were funded by federal, provincial and municipal levels of government in Ottawa, Ontario and Canada, as well as things I’ve been a part of as a newcomer and participant in programming in England, Ireland and Australia, that I thought worked well. I had a few suggestions, things to explore but was mainly there to listen and learn, so I can continue sharing helpful resources with business owners, freelancers, contractors and entrepreneurs who also happen to be parents.
Stay well everyone,
– Amy (+ Family) xx
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Notes From Another Land 