Amanda Lamb: My turn

If you are the parents of a teenager, you have no doubt asked yourself the question: "What am I going to do when it's my turn?" You would be lying if you say this hasn't crossed your mind.

As parents, we spend 18 years putting our children's needs before our own. When they are babies, we cater to their immediate physical needs - food, diaper-changing, comfort, sleep. As they get older, the needs turn into a complex map of logistics which includes managing every aspect of their lives from transportation to homework to sports and other extracurricular activities to their social lives. And then there are the ongoing emotional needs ...

Sure, I'm not so naive as to believe that parenting ends at 18, but the daily mechanics of running their lives will surely wane as they venture out into the world as independent beings.

So, while it's hard to imagine life without someone else to put first all of the time, I think it's important as women to look towards the horizon and re-connect with the people we were before we entered into the exciting, challenging, and rewarding journey of parenting.

My bucket list is long and diverse - cross-country skiing out west, a bike ride in the dessert, dog-sledding in Canada, maybe even stand-up comedy. Who really knows what the future holds?

The bottom line is that before we were mothers, we were fully formed individuals with passions, ideals and dreams. It's coming ladies. It's right around the corner. What will you do with your turn?