Exactly three months ago I sat at my desk to write my first “Behind the Scenes” post to reflect on few different events in my life that had led me back to photography. Upon rereading that post I realized that an appropriate subtitle for that post could have been “Responding to the curveballs of life”. Like many of you, I have had my fair share. It was a really helpful exercise to reflect on where I have been and where I am hoping to go. I even had the gumption to write the phrase “I am ready for a challenge”. Now in fairness, I knew what I meant when I wrote that down. I felt ready for the hard work of trying to build a business from nothing. I felt ready to work harder on my craft. I was willing to put the hours, weeks, months and years into getting better. What I did not mean was that I was ready for another curveball.

Everything’s not okay

Aiden had not been feeling well for the first few weeks of April and had the good sense to ask me to get a requisition for bloodwork. We both thought it would come back and show that his iron was low and he needed some supplements. We went to the lab mid afternoon and at 8 pm that night I got a phone call that no parents wants.

Doctor: “Is this Aiden Perron’s mom?”

Me: “Yes”

Doctor: “Aiden’s platelets are critically low and we have no idea why. You need to get him to the ER immediately.”

A close family member is battling a type of cancer that destroys platelets, so my mind could not help but leap to the absolute worst case scenario for our oldest son. One week later, after many blood draws, tests and a bone marrow biopsy, they thankfully ruled out leukemia. Aiden was back to his regular self, and the doctors had no solid answer for what had happened. While that was all extremely difficult we were so happy that he was okay and ready to move on from this blip in his system.

Until it all happened again three weeks later. And then again three weeks after that.

For the last three months we have been in a strange new world of trying to understand Aiden’s autoimmune system. To look at him, it is hard to tell that anything is wrong. But every three weeks, like clockwork, his system attacks platelets and white blood cells. We are under the fantastic care of one of Calgary’s best hematologists and her team. Their care and concern for him has been tremendous. As best we know, we are in the early days of figuring out what the root cause of this is and what an appropriate treatment will be going forward. Aiden has remained his happy, joyful, optimistic self throughout this whole journey and has in turn taught me so much.

Plans? What plans?

Like many of you, we had a spring and summer full of plans. We were suppose to go to the Maritimes to see family. We were suppose to go Iquitos Peru as a family on our church’s youth mission trip. We were suppose to have a carefree, full filled few months before heading back into the business of life in September. Instead, the planning calendar was wiped clean and we have been living in much more of a day to day existence.

I kept thinking that if I had only known that all of this was going to happen, there is no way I would have decided to launch this venture in January. How in the world am I suppose to work on building a business while navigating my son’s health crisis?

I was sharing this with a dear friend over coffee, and she kindly pointed out something I was missing. Because I had started this business in January, Aiden and I have had the opportunity to work together even through this hard season. Even when he has felt at his worst, he has insisted on joining me on every photoshoot that I had booked. There were weeks when knowing that we had a shoot was the only thing that he had to look forward to. Being able to reframe the situation that we find ourselves in has been a powerful tool to help us all build resilience. There have been small wins and moments of great joy in a season of heaviness. I am incredibly grateful to the clients who have booked us in this season of uncertainty. They have given us the gift of being able to be creative together while delivering images that they love and will have for a long time.

Launching and learning

I think most small business owners can attest to the fact that the trajectory of their business rarely follows the path they had laid out. In my reading and research in the past few months I have stumbled onto the theory of Entrepreneurial Resilience. There has been a lot of research into why this trait is required and how it plays a huge part in being able to survive when things do not go as planned.

I find myself with a few choices in the midst of a hard season. I can wallow and feel sad about what is happening (and I have!). I can pretend everything is okay and keep pushing forward without processing (tried that!). Or I can stop, take stock of where I am and make a plan to get going again.

One of my goals for my business is to use it as a tool to teach my kids. When I feel like I don’t have the answers for myself, I find it helpful to think of the advice I would give a friend in the same situation. So with my friend hat on I am reminding myself that these are early days for Laura Perron Photography. Have fun, enjoy the time you have working with Aiden. Find joy in the creative process and trust in the perfect timing of the One who has been with you the whole time.

What’s next? (I think! 😊)

I am currently working on a course called Personal Branding Breakthrough by the Art of Her. I LOVE learning, so this course has been really fun and inspiring to work through. My desire is to grow in the Personal Brand Photography niche and I am hoping this course will help me reach some of the goals I have set for the remainder of 2024. As my entrepreneurial friends at Cornerstone Press Studio like to say, “Sometimes we win, and sometimes we learn.” Here’s to a season of winning and learning!