Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 329

Grown and Flown Fall Primer – Rock & Roll Mama!

We’ve hit the dog days of summer when I start thinking ahead, with affection, for fall weather and fall style. The daily temp’s been hitting 90 and I’m sweating it out on crowded subway platforms on my way to work and meetings, not lounging on a breezy beach with a cold Corona.
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I’m starting to think about how nice it feels to put on a pair of jeans right around Labor Day when th...

Losing My Marbles, One Day At a Time

Nine hundred and forty marbles. On the day your child is born, if you fill a jar with 940 marbles, you’d have in your hands the number of weeks between that child’s birth and his 18th birthday. That’s a hefty jar, maybe too heavy to hold with only one hand. All shiny and colorful, they clink against each other when you give the jar a shake. Deceptively small, they represent potential, time, milestones, birthdays.

By her fifth birthday, 260 of them are gone, spent over weeks that pass in a blu...

When the KU Kids Come to Town Here is What the Lawrence Police Have to Say

Kansas University kids are coming back to campus and the Lawrence Police have some wisdom, the kind every mom wants to shout out loud, to share.

Some tips for incoming students new to town:

1. Fake IDs that you order online from China may look really really real. But when you hand us one and we run it, and it says not on file, we’ll know, and you’ll be back to using your McLovin ID and you’ll have a court date.

— Lawrence Police (@LawrenceKS_PD) August 14, 2018

2. Don’t order fake IDs onli...

What I Need My Daughter to Know About Turning 13

Dear Daughter,

This is 13. It looks great on you but, I have to admit, I love this stage of your life and want it to go away all at the same time.

Seeing you change and grow and be uncomfortable and struggle is heart wrenching.

Instead of watching you admiring yourself the mirror wearing a plastic, bejeweled crown, I see you tug at your shirt and turn your head when the camera comes out.

I remember when you wore a tutu and sneakers with your favorite pink baseball hat and didn’t notice what a...

Remember This Before You Comment On Your Daughter’s Appearance

My daughter walked into the room and asked me how she looked. It was a simple question. I didn’t expect it to trigger the flood of crazy mom emotions that followed.

She was going out to celebrate a birthday with her friends and had spent the last two hours blaring music in her room while she tore through every drawer in search of the perfect outfit. Her bed and floor were covered in clothes she had decided weren’t going to be ‘right’ for pizza and a movie. She sat at her vanity surrounded by...

When Your Kids Span Generations, Watching The Youngest Leave Is Bittersweet

Your shoes don’t match,” my husband laughed and commented as I sat in his office late one Friday afternoon. “Late” is the pivotal word here, because I was in fact late. I was so late that I had just taken a pregnancy test and discovered I was expecting our third baby. We’d always wanted a third, but things just didn’t work out that way. We counted our blessings of a son and daughter, and were actively engaged in all of the activities pre-teens love—Little League, Girl Scouts, soccer, PTA, and...

Mom Sends Postcards To Young Son And They Are Delivered 18 Years Later

I come from a long line of women who “fretted,” a kind of mother-worrying that comes with twitching or tapping fingers, a furrowed brow, and lots of conversation about the worry. Sometimes I might go overboard – like the time when my son was in college, and a black bear was spotted near his campus in Washington, D.C.  Was there any chance he would encounter the bear? Probably not. But still.

In September 2000, I started a new job with a pharmaceutical company. Our son was ten years old. Like...

Dear Son, Don’t Worry: My Mom Ruined My Life, Too (And I Survived)

Dear Son,

Summer’s almost over, and you’ve already outgrown the pants you wore to your middle school graduation just two months ago. You’ve memorized your class schedule for the upcoming year and the high school sports physical form is overdue. You’re already hoping for a certain locker location and lunch period at summer’s end. It’s crazy that’s where we are right now.

And it’s true what they say: The days are long but the years are short. I mean, let me just tell you…the days? All of the da...

Go Be Amazing: 28 Things I Want My Son to Know Before He Leaves for College

Just a few days left for you to be under our roof, so here’s an open letter that you can’t misplace, can’t throw away and the ink will never fade.

Son,

First of all, we would like to tell you we are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished in 18 years. You are level headed, your future is bright and your potential is limitless.

But here’s some advice we must share with you before you leave for college.

Get enough sleep. Set your alarm clock (well, maybe 2 alarm clocks). Attend all...

Feeling Kind of Low? 11 Tips for When Your Kids Leave Home

When I thought about my youngest child going off to college, I worried I’d miss him and his bear hugs—his messy room, not so much.

Never mind what the hubby and I would talk about or what would I do with all those free hours. But when the time came, I actually felt kind of relieved. I was busy with a job I loved, he was at a great school, and all the nagging about filling out apps was finished forever.

But reactions differ—from “Where’s the party?” to “Why doesn’t Costco sell bigger boxes of...