'I'll admit it, I'm jealous of my 16-year-old daughter.'

My fabulous daughter turned 16 today. We went out for breakfast ($76 for two avo toast and a juice!), I bought her a new iPhone, she was allowed to get her third ear-piercing and we picked up her learner plates from ServiceNSW.

She is now with friends celebrating at the beach and is having a fabulous day before a family dinner tonight. I'm so proud and happy, and so amazed I've had this gorgeous human by my side for 16 years. I've never known anything like this love before. The kind of love that just thinking about it makes me cry.

But I'm also a mix of emotions I didn't expect to feel.

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It's not just the mix of sadness and excitement of her getting older and more independent. Or the time-warp of wondering where 16 years went. There's more. Nostalgia? Envy? A deep sadness for times past.

No one seems to talk about this tsunami of complicated feelings as our teens dive into these fabulous, formative years... although I do recall a time when I was this age, and talking with friends about how our mums had become a little distant and judgy, a little…almost… mean.

And I think I get it now.

Because amidst that pride, that overwhelming love and that excitement for what is ahead for my daughter, amidst the fear of losing her as she gets older and moves on with her life, amidst the endless love and admiration, is a sliver of jealousy as she starts her life.

Image: Supplied.

Sometimes I am envious of all the opportunities that are ahead of her, all the first times, and the joy, all the new friendships and challenges and laughs and learning. It makes me think back to my teens, all those years ago.

Sometimes I wish it was me just starting out again. That I could turn back time and do it all over again.

I want the world for her, of course. But I want it too. I want another chance.

In a way, I think I'm going through a mourning period for my teens as she begins to really live hers. And my teen years weren't bad, they just weren't… this. I wonder if this is what they call a midlife crisis? Pining for days gone by and wanting to do it all again.

When we were younger, our parents were not as focused on us as we are on our kids — I'm sure all the kids of the 70s and the 80s would agree. We fit into our parents' lives, not the other way round as most of us seem to do it now.

Our parents partied as we slept under the tables of Chinese restaurants, kept us upstairs watching TV or passed out asleep on the floor while they stripped and jumped into swimming pools til 3am. Then they bundled us up into the back of Fords and Holdens and drove home drunk, winding along the roads and somehow making it home. We were the independent kids and no one knew (or cared) where we were or what we were doing — as long as we came home when the street lights came on each evening and did what we were told, everything was fine.

We had to fit into our parents' lives and make our own way. We got what we got. And if we didn't like it? Tough.

Our kids, my daughter and most likely your kids, live differently.

We want to prepare them for the big world that's out there, driven by correcting our mistakes, making sure they know about the threats and the challenges and giving them every opportunity we didn't have.

In giving my daughter the best life she could possibly have — full of travel and fun and getting what she wants — I've created a life I covet.

But it's not only material things, it's the seemingly endless opportunities for kids these days. I mean, my daughter spent the day before her birthday on a yacht on Sydney harbour for her work Christmas party.

Image: Supplied.

Yes, there is the added pressure of social media — thankfully my daughter seems to be handling that okay — but there is just so much opportunity to do and be whatever they want.

They can follow female astronauts and neuroscientists on social media, they can find inspiration all around them, and with hard work and a little bit of cheek, they can make their way into something unheard of back in my day.

They have so many incredible experiences ahead of them that we never did, or had to fight for.

So, as my daughter slides into the most fabulous years of her life at 16, it feels like I'm sliding out of mine.

I mentioned this to a few of my friends and they were feeling these same complex emotions. We don't begrudge our teens at all, or want to take anything from them.

Image: Supplied.

We still want to give them the world — it's just that we want it too.

Remember the first time you went to a party. The first time you kissed a boy or felt like you were growing up and becoming an adult. The first time you went out with friends, laughing and having fun without a care in the world.

Imagine doing that and having your parents at your beck and call (lol) and the opportunity to be and do whatever you want in the world. In our truly global world, the opportunities are endless.

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I remember my mum telling me at 16 that this was the time to appreciate everything.

"These are the best days of your life," she said. I didn't get it then.

But I do now.

Evie Farrell shares her adventures at @mumpacktravel and takes women on group trips all over the world to live their best non-teen lives at www.mumpacktrips.com

Feature image: Instagram/ @mumpacktravel.