Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 325

Time for the Dreaded Family Conversation About College Cost

The beginning of your child’s senior year of high school can be a difficult period of time. You have given her lots of room to explore her college options, but it’s time to get realistic about cost. What you want to avoid is the heartbreaking scene of your child learning on April 1 that she has just been admitted to the college of her dreams, and you learning moments later that its price is completely out of reach.

So, if you haven’t begun the dreaded family conversation about college cost, t...

10 Goals That Are More Important Than Where Kids Go To College

If you have a high schooler, you’re familiar with the getting-into-the-right-college rat race. From SAT/ACT prep, to college essay practice, to swamped extracurricular schedules, our students can easily be swept away in the rush to make it into the best schools.

Naturally, we want our children to reach for their dreams. And of course we’d love to see them attend universities with good programs and reputations if that’s the right path for them. But we have to ask ourselves what might be sacrif...

How Hard Should We Push Our Teens?

As a new school year begins, it’s always a time of year when many of us want to start fresh and put our best foot forward. Maybe it’s the school supplies, new outfits, and new kicks but the first day of school has always felt like a new beginning to most – even more so than the new year.

We want our kids to thrive each year and we know there will be new challenges to face. We  want to support our kids in any way we can.

Do we push them a bit and encourage them to study and try harder in hopes...

Is Starting College with a Ton of AP and Dual Enrollment Credit Hours Really a Good Thing?

If you surveyed the average high school senior right now, and asked them how many college credits they’ve earned already, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who answers “zero.” As a matter of fact, you’d probably be quite surprised to hear many students brag about having 12, 18, even 30 college credit hours already under their belt- all of which were earned while still in high school.

What’s becoming even more common is the fact some students are literally graduating high school with an A...

The Lazy Mom’s Guide to College Care Packages

The first time I went grocery shopping after my baby went away to college something very unexpected happened. I happily waltzed in, completely relieved and anticipating experiencing a cheaper than normal grocery bill, all because of one less teenager to feed. I finally didn’t have to buy All The Things.  This would be great!

And then I walked by the Cheerios.

And cried.

And I thought of chubby baby fingers making their first pincher reflex, and with all the concentration in the world, tryin...

28 Favorite Ideas for College Care Packages for Girls

My daughter was in need of some much-needed pampering the other day. She was hiding in her room as I was headed out to run errands when I got a text from her: Mom can you please get me some dark chocolate and strawberries and some more of those boy short undies I like? Love U. It occurred to me that besides the usual taking care of our teens, they need a little extra once in a while too. Yes, there are times when the bare necessities feel overwhelming and like they might break us, but a lit...

Not Crying at College Drop Off? GOOD! Don’t Feel Any Guilt About it Either!

I’m a crier. I am a world class, quivering lips, ugly faced, squinty eyed, world. class. crier.  My cry game has no shame. I frequently lose it over diaper commercials featuring sweaty, pink cheeked moms lying in hospital beds and being handed their newborn baby. And the flood gates easily flow open over sad songs, sad books, and sad movies all the time.

So it came as no surprise that when I left my first baby at college, I wept like a lost soul for the entire 250 miles of interstate home. My...

I Left My Son With a Mattress on the Floor and His Clothes in a Duffel Bag.

I hugged my son goodbye and was careful not to step on any of his clothes on the floor. As I walked out of the room behind him, I quickly grabbed the shampoo and conditioner on the floor and tossed them into his shower caddy. Then, I saw some Neosporin in the corner and put that on a shelf by the door, hoping he would find it easily if needed. My son Ben was now in the living room talking with his roommates and with our friend Marc, who had come to help move Ben from his summer apartment into...

Our Son is a Freshman for the Second Time

Our son is back in college.  As parents we are excited for this important step in his life, possibly more so than other parents of college freshman. That’s because our son is a freshman for the second time.

Two years ago, our son graduated from high school. His future was untapped and exciting. Like most young men and women his age, our son believed he was going to conquer the world. He’d had it planned out for years – attend college, graduate, and then move somewhere warm to begin work at hi...

Learning To Say “I’m Sorry” To Your Teen Can Be Tough

I apologize.

With a fifteen-year-old son, I’m learning to say that a lot lately.

My formerly easygoing little boy has become a young man, and we disagree when I least expect it. Fifteen can be a tricky age, filled with extremes. There are few gray areas when you are a fifteen-year-old boy.

There are things that are cool and right and fair, like Reddit and funny memes and staying up late to play games on the computer, and all the other things that are not. More often than I would like, I fall...