Amanda Lamb: Just Mom
In the words of Stevie Nicks from the iconic song "Landslide:" “Can the child within my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?”
These words have been ringing in my ears ever since I decided to change direction this month leaving a 29-year stint at WRAL to pursue my own career path. As silly as it may be, I’ve been thinking about what my daughters will say when people ask them what their mother does for a living. While this shouldn’t matter to me, it does for some bizarre reason.
I picture their response being something like this: “She was a television reporter for a really long time, and she wrote a whole bunch of books and did some true crime podcasts. Now, she’s doing her own thing. I’m not really sure what that is…”
It’s funny, now, when I think about how being a television reporter has always defined me. It was what I led with in most new conversations. But in the past year, I’ve practiced being Just Amanda first, and then allowing the details of my background to eventually surface organically. Sometimes, not at all. I discovered that I liked being Just Amanda, being judged by the quality of my thoughts and ideas, and not by the title I had worn proudly for so many years.
In truth, I don’t think my kids ever really cared about what I did for a living. Sure, it may have impressed a few people they told, but for the most part, to them I’m Just Mom. I’m the woman who drives them crazy with my constant inquiries about their lives. I’m the woman who sends them silly videos on Instagram about how talking to your mother every single day is good for your mental health. I’m the woman who they call when they need something. I’m the woman who Facetimes them just to “check in” when they’re at work or out on the town and don’t want to be bothered. I’m the woman who waits for them to carve out a little time for me when they come home for holidays and just want to see their friends. No, my resume doesn’t impress them at all. And that’s how it should be.
So, as I enter this next uncharted phase of my life, I am going to work on being Just Amanda, but maybe even more importantly, being Just Mom…
Amanda is a mom of two and an author of several books including some on motherhood. She is a veteran television crime reporter with more than three decades of experience. Amanda left WRAL in January 2024 to focus on her company, Stage Might Communications, which helps people with all things media including content creation and public speaking.
