Is this a mid-life crisis... or just a really good idea?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve played with the idea of creating little “shops”, “cafés”, “doll dress stores” ... “schools”... you name it, I dreamed it!

As a little girl, I was constantly coming up with ideas, fantasising about the setups, the products and how I would put my own stamp on things. I would design order forms, create actual products, make price lists and critically plan every last detail. Some ideas were absolutely far fetched (you might call it ADHD 😅), while others probably had real potential!

My favourite game of all time was playing “schools”… but my school was fun. It was creative and chaotic, but probably a little bit bossy. Thankfully, my little sisters Emma and Kim, were always willing to play along (thanks guys ❤️).

Midlife crisis or not.... at least there is cake!

As I moved into adulthood, I actually did make that dream a reality. For the last 21 years I’ve worked as a Family Day Care Educator, along with a stint in two childcare centres. And honestly? For the most part, I have truly loved it. Like… “lay awake at night thinking about ideas” loved it.

Seeing children simply being children absolutely warms my heart.

And as much as I thought the programs I was creating were for the children, I wouldn’t mind betting a lot of it was also driven by my own childhood dreams, ideas and imagination too. (I really hope that’s not a narcissistic thing to admit 😂).

Fast forward to about 6 or 7 months ago… (ohhh 6/7… sorry, I had to do it 😅) and an idea came from somewhere deep within, flew straight out of my mouth and suddenly… we couldn’t stop planning.

The Tiny Toadstool was born.

And my over the top ADHD tendencies came back in FULL force.

I could see the “excitement” on my husband Kain’s face 😂 but not once did he hesitate to support the idea. He simply said,“Right. What do you need?”

(And he wonders why I get out of hand sometimes.)

I knew I was riding a dopamine wave, so I had to act fast.

Together we planned, designed, tested and completely took over the corner of our lounge room with potion mixtures, spoons, golden teapots, dried flowers, shipping boxes and more glitter than a Mardi Gras parade.

It didnt actually stay this organised at the end.... if Im honest!

As time has gone on, sure… we’ve had a few blunders, a couple of actual disasters, redesigns, disagreements 😅 and moments where we questioned what on earth we were doing.

But mostly?

We’ve had a lot of fun.

And honestly, I think all good ideas probably come with a little chaos.

Phil photobombed more than he didnt!

Over the weekend, Kain finished installing the air conditioner in our new shipping container warehouse and today we stood there looking at the now empty corner of the lounge room where “The Tiny Toadstool” used to live.

Moving day! Thank goodness for the wagon!

It feels clean. Weird. Slightly echoey.

But I’m not sad.

Because we’re actually doing this.

We’re doing it together and we are genuinely excited about where this weird little idea could go.

Who knows whether it’ll become something long term or whether it’s just another one of those pipe dream ideas that quietly fizzles away in the corner…

But either way?

I’m fully committing to this midlife crisis- and we’re going to enjoy every damn second of it 🍄✨

Jade