The Good Choice Blog: The Life I Didn’t Plan —

And Why I’m Grateful For It

By Tiawna LaMontagne 

If you’ve been following my social media, you know that I had knee surgery at the beginning of 2026. And if you’ve been following my blogs, you also know that my mental health took a bit of a dive during that experience.

As I often tell participants in my courses, life is all about perspective and how you choose to look at it. I also frequently joke that I give excellent advice — I just need to take my own advice more often.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working hard to get myself back on track — not just physically, learning how to walk properly again — but mentally as well. Counselling, mindfulness, self-care, and practicing a lot of self-compassion.

Through this process, I found myself feeling deeply overwhelmed with gratitude — for the people in my life, for the lessons I’ve learned, and for the winding, unpredictable path that brought me here. Which got me thinking about how rarely life unfolds the way we imagine it will.

Life is truly never what we expect it to be.

When I was in elementary school, I was absolutely convinced that I was going to grow up to be a big country music star. Who knows… maybe that could still happen!

By the time high school rolled around, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. After graduation, like many people, I wasn’t hit with that overwhelming sense of I was born to be a pilot or an astronaut. All I knew was that I wanted to do something that made me happy.

And over the years, I’ve had many jobs that have done exactly that.

Take Red Lobster, for example. Oh my goodness — what a time that was. Some of the people I met there are still, to this day, some of my closest and most cherished friends. The memories we created together are some of the best ones I carry with me. That building, that job, brought all of us together. It’s a chapter of my life I will never regret.

Working for my grandpa alongside my uncles in the family plumbing business created another set of memories I wouldn’t trade for anything. While I can confidently say my plumbing skills are not exactly top-tier these days, the time spent working with my family taught me so much and gave me moments I will carry forever.

Then there was my time at SaskPower. While I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t meant to be a lifelong Crown corporation employee, I absolutely loved many of the teams I worked with. To this day, I still have a great deal of respect for many people there, and I genuinely enjoy returning through my business to work with different groups and continue that collaboration.

And then there’s Harbour Landing Village. That place helped me discover something I didn’t even know I had — the ability to use creativity in my work. It encouraged me to think outside the box and ultimately helped me grow into starting my own business. I’m incredibly grateful that today I still get to work closely with them.

Now, let’s be honest. Every job has its moments.

There were plenty of days throughout those years where I asked myself, Why am I doing this? Why am I here? Those four words that almost everyone has said at some point in their lives probably crossed my mind too: I hate my job. Maybe with a few extra colourful words attached.

But even on those hard days, the memories and experiences that came with those jobs were worth it.

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs while also working in both the public and private sectors gave me a pretty unique perspective on work. And I can tell you something — the perception of entrepreneurship and the reality of it are sometimes very different.

One of the biggest perks of being a solo entrepreneur is the freedom to create your own schedule. As a very independent person, I don’t particularly enjoy asking for permission to travel or take time off. Being able to build a schedule that works for my life is something I truly value.

But on the flip side, any entrepreneur or leader will tell you there’s another side to that freedom. Late-night emails. Finishing projects at eleven o’clock at night. And the accounting… oh my goodness, the accounting. That is easily the bane of my existence as a business owner.

There are also the quiet stresses — wondering if you’re busy enough this month, wondering if you’ll be busy enough next month. Some months you feel like you can’t get your head above water because the workload is nonstop. Other times you wonder when the next opportunity will come.

It’s an ebb and flow that’s rarely consistent.

But despite those stresses, I wouldn’t trade this life for the world. It challenges me, excites me, and gives me a sense of purpose that gets me out of bed every morning.

I’ve always been very open about why I started this business.

It started because of Joel.

Losing him is what set everything in motion. His passing changed the direction of my life in ways I never could have imagined. I will never be happy about how I got here — but I believe there are reasons for why things happen. And the lived experience that came from that loss is the reason I am doing the work I love today. I thank Joel every day for helping me to find my passion, and for the opportunity to keep his memory alive.

The pain of losing Joel was unbearable. It quite literally almost killed me. I would never wish that kind of grief on anyone.

But at the same time, I would never trade away the love we shared or the memories we created together. Just like those jobs I talked about earlier — there were incredibly hard days. Days where I couldn’t get out of bed. Days where anxiety took over. Days where even basic things like showering felt impossible.

But those years, those memories, that love — they were worth every moment.

Grief, trauma, and pain are things we cannot outrun. If we try to avoid them, they eventually find us anyway. I had to go through it. I had to experience it fully in order to eventually find my way to the other side.

And on the other side, I found purpose.

Now I share those experiences in the hope that maybe — just maybe — I can make someone else’s journey a little bit easier.

Because of Joel, I get to do something I truly love. I get to talk about him every day. I get to keep his memory alive while helping others in my community feel more confident responding to emergencies, supporting mental health, and looking out for one another.

Together, in a way, we are still helping people.

Life has also brought new blessings into my world. I remarried a wonderful man, Rob, who understands my story, my passion, and the work I do. I have a big, dopey bulldog who is easily my number-one endorphin booster. And I’m surrounded by amazing friends and family who show up for me whenever I need them.

None of this is the life I once imagined, but I am so grateful for it

My mental health still ebbs and flows. Anxiety still visits. Depression still shows up. Nobody is perfect.

But I couldn’t imagine a better life for me!

Because the truth is, life will throw a lot of challenges our way. It will knock us down. It will take us places we never expected to go. But those experiences — the messy, painful, complicated ones — are often the very things that shape us into stronger, wiser, more compassionate people. They become the stories that define who we are.

So if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: Don’t hold too tightly to the plan you once had for your life.

Be bold. Take chances. Allow yourself to try, to fail, to grow. Because sometimes the life you never planned for becomes the life that teaches you the most, fills you with the deepest gratitude, and leads you exactly where you were meant to be.

 

If you or someone you know needs support:

Reaching out for support is not a sign of weakness — it’s an act of courage. Healing looks different for everyone, and needing help along the way is part of being human.

You are not alone.

📞 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline
Call or text 988 | 24/7, Canada-wide

📞 HealthLine Saskatchewan
Call 811 | 24/7 health & mental health support

📞 Mobile Crisis Services (24/7)
Regina: 306-757-0127
Saskatoon: 306-933-6200
Prince Albert: 306-764-1011

📞 Kids Help Phone
Call 1-800-668-6868
Text 686868 | 24/7

📞 Farm Stress Line (SK)
Call 1-800-667-4442 | 24/7

📞 Hope for Wellness Help Line (Indigenous Peoples)
Call 1-855-242-3310 | 24/7
Text HOPE to 45645

Counselling & Community Supports

📞 Counselling Connect Saskatchewan
Call 306-933-3655
Email info@counsellingconnectsask.ca

📞 Canadian Mental Health Association – Saskatchewan
Call 306-525-5333
Email info@sk.cmha.ca

📞 211 Saskatchewan
Call or text 211 | Community & mental health resources

📞 SaskAgMatters Mental Health Network
Call 1-800-667-4442
Email info@saskagmatters.ca