Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 323

28 Favorite College Care Package Ideas for Guys

As the parent of both a daughter and a son who are students, I can say without hesitation that it’s much harder to come up with college care package ideas for guys than it is for girls.

If you’ve struggled like me, walking past fuzzy socks, cute hair ties, and nail polish in frustration, here are some care package ideas that will make a young man smile (and hopefully call home!) with gratitude.

Note: We receive compensation from purchases made through the links in this post.

College Care Pack...

Experts Suggest These 7 Ways to Help Adjust to Your Empty Nest

Like thousands of parents across the country, I recently dropped my youngest child at college. On one hand, I was dreading the day—the end of a nearly 25-year phase of raising children under our roof. On the other, I was eager to watch our boy spread his wings and fly. And if all goes according to plan, his new four-year home will be a place where he will flourish intellectually, emotionally, and socially, reveling in his newfound independence.

But what’s with all the ‘empty nest’ talk? Last...

I Met My Soulmate In College. (I’m Not Talking About The Person I Married)

I got my letter with my assigned roommate’s information in the summer of ’93 before attending my freshman year in college. I decided to go to school a few states away and couldn’t wait for the adventure.

Instead of asking to room with another girlfriend who was attending that school and playing it safe, I wanted to make new friends.

I skimmed over the letter and reached for the phone dialing her number– I wasn’t even nervous; she was from New York and I had family from New York, we already ha...

High School in the 80s was Different and We Were Just Fine

According to my kids I sound “old-fashioned” when I tell them certain things about my school days. My reminiscing about high school in the 80s and 90s has been coming up a lot lately since we are preparing for the first day of 6th, 8th, and 10th grade.

Please pass the Advil.

The other day while we were discussing needs versus wants for back to school shopping, I kept trying to cement the point about what they really needed and when should try and stay in that realm since there are three of th...

How To Send Your Son To A School Dance In 50 Easy Steps

Now that your kid is in high school, I hate to break it to you: gone are the simple days when you drop your child off at an elementary event run by friends of yours on the PTA.

Back then, you told your kid to grab his shoes and $2 and dropped him off at the skating rink. Or a “dance” that included a DJ that no one danced to in favor of roaming the gym with his friends while wearing glow in the dark bracelets and wristbands.

High school dances and proms are no joke. And they aren’t cheap, eith...

Grief Has Changed The Way I Parent My Teenagers

My teenaged son walked in the door from school and I caught a glimpse of my father. It was fleeting, lasting only milliseconds, but for a tiny moment in time, I could see the way my father’s features had melded with my son’s.

And, as it happens during those moments, my heart broke a little bit. Again.

Because that’s what grieving does to you.

My father died six years ago and my children were small. Both were unable to grasp the reality that the man who read them bedtime stories and bragged ab...

When Your Heart Is Breaking Because Your Freshman Is Unhappy

Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I am inundated with posts of friends and acquaintances, dropping their sons and daughters off for their first year of college. I think back to a year ago, when I was doing the same. The excitement. The hopefulness. The nervous anticipation.

What unfolded in the weeks that followed was not what I’d expected—or what I’d heard to expect—of my child’s college experience. Our family’s “college transition story” is a little different than most. But important to s...

To My Friend Whose Daughter Has Betrayed Mine

Dear Friend,

It has been such fun raising our kids together. Hasn’t it? I think of all the precious time you and I have spent talking and laughing while our children played. The hours at the playground, the summers by the pool, the years on the sidelines—you and your children have been as much a part of our lives as family. You have been my best friend since our first playdate, and I love your children like my own.

That is why this betrayal is particularly painful.

Seeing our children hurt is...

Grown and Flown Style: Fall Forward

We are happy to report that we are back on the style beat after summer vacays. We planned it so that our beach trips overlapped and our families could spend time together because that is what “besties” do! Our 4 boys (2 each) have known each other since they were little and it’s so fun to hang out with them as young adults, now with assorted boyfriends, girlfriends.

Needless to say, Pam and I have been a little off the grid, out of touch or simply not paying attention to the outside world. B...

Community College Was The Right Choice For My Son And I No Longer Feel Guilty

“He’s going to community college,” were the words I had uttered many times, as people asked what my son was doing after high school graduation. Those same people would then go on to tell me what a great decision it was, how smart we were, how bad student debt is, or how much money we would save. They would say this, while at the same time telling me that their son or daughter was going away to a 4 years school.

“Going away,” the opposite of “staying home.”

“Going away” meant anything from Tam...