Monique Prince describes herself as a woman with many hats. With her husband, Eusi, she’s the co-owner of two popular barbershops in the Greater Toronto Area called All My Sons Hair of Art Studio.

Together, this couple understand the importance of keeping a balance. But maintaining a balance is a big challenge when you have 10 children.

“We have [children aged] 22, 16, 14, 10, 9, 7, 6, 4, and our set of twins which are two and half,” Monique said.

So what does a typical day look like in the Prince home?

“Early mornings, lot of preparation,” Monique said. “Hopefully we can get the lunches done the night before — hopefully.

“Everyone kind of falls into place and everyone helps each other.”

Tasks such as washing, cleaning, cooking and helping with the homework are all accomplished daily — and all without the help of a nanny.

“My home is my priority and I just feel like when there’s order and there’s organization and there’s support from hubby and the other children, it makes it really easy to do all the other stuff,” Monique said.

That “other stuff” is being committed and driven to help run the family businesses, but she’s also a motivational speaker, mentoring and empowering women in her community. And if that’s not enough, Monique started this:

“Sons Stop Shooting Our Sons is a walk crusade that brought out a few hundred people, “said Monique. “It really brought unity and even some healing.”

It started with two walks last year held in communities affected by gun violence.

“I have eight sons of my own and when I see the increase of the gun violence in 2018, I started to have my own concerns because it wasn’t in a specific area or demographic within the GTA, it was sporadic,” Monique said.

And let’s not forget about dad. For the last four years, Eusi Prince has been engaging community youth through mentorship, teaching them marketable job skills to help build their confidence and self-esteem.

“Being called to be a father of so many boy children, I said to myself, ‘Maybe I can do more,’” Eusi recalled. “All My Sons Hair of Art Studio became a safe haven for children that were having issues. They were able to come here and actually open up their minds and be transparent.

“The moment somebody walks into the facility and they actually feel inspired, the job is done,” he said.

In closing, I asked Monique, “Can women do it all?”

“You definitely can do it and women are amazing,” she said. “I’m not the only one. One child or 10 children, it really is a selfless act to be a mom.”

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