Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 336

Grown and Flown Summer Style: Your Guide to the Summer Sales

I have a friend who would tell me she was going “sailing” every summer weekend. I was very impressed by how much she enjoyed getting out on the water until finally I realized she was going “SALE-ing”. As in, shopping the summer sales!!!

Note: G&F may receive compensation from purchases made through the links in this post but the opinions are our own.

Now is the time for great summer sales and we have been scouring the web to bring you the best finds from our favorite stores. First up is the...

Our Before And After College Drop Off Photos Speak Volumes

I find myself looking at a photo. It’s not just any ordinary, everyday photo…it’s the photo my husband took of me as I hugged my daughter the moment we were about to leave her at her dorm to begin her freshman year of college. I had no idea he had taken the photo. It was not a planned photo opp. I would have never allowed this very personal moment to be staged and archived for all eternity (or for at least as long as digital photos will last).

Looking at it now, though, I am very grateful for...

College Scholarships: Best Places To Look and How to Apply

The process of applying for scholarships and actually finding ones for your student can be bewildering.

Recently, college admissions expert Susan Dabbar of Admission Smarts spoke with Grown and Flown about how to find merit-based scholarship money to help you pay for your student’s college education.

Learn the Scholarships Lingo

Even just the lingo can make a first time college parent feel like they don’t know what to do first when it comes to finding scholarships. Basically, there are two ca...

Teen Leaving for College? Relieved? You’re Not Alone

Alas, the biological phenomenon of “soiling the nest” is currently underway with great anticipation and gleeful (if not a tad violent) fanfare all across the country right now.

It can be seen far and wide — in the picked over bed sheet aisles of every suburban Beth, Bath, and Beyond, in the windowless casino like environment of IKEA stores, where dazed and confused dads are pushing loading carts toppled high with pink, fuzzy shag rugs and glittering chandeliers. It can be seen in torn apart c...

The Eighteenth Summer

I came home the other day after a long afternoon of running errands and this is what my front porch looked like.

These shoes mean that I have a house full of kids . . . mostly teenagers. These shoes are a sure sign that it is summer and school is out. These shoes mean there is probably no food left in my house. These shoes mean noise and chaos and laughter and music. It means there are probably kids lounging on my sofa, floating in my pool, playing air hockey or watching a movie somewhere. T...

Dear Son, You Don’t Have To Go to College

Dear Son,

I know the questions are coming in fast and furious about what your major is going to be, where you want to go to college, and what you want to be when you grow up.

I remember these questions all too well- when I was a senior, it was just assumed that everyone would go to college- it’s just what you did after high school.

There are these unwritten rules and expectations; as 18-year-olds, there weren’t many of us who thought we could argue with that so, we packed up and left to pursu...

This is the Most Difficult Stage of Motherhood

The other day I was making dinner when my son walked in, surprising us with a long weekend home from college. I literally squealed with delight when I saw him and ran to give him a long hug. He grinned at me and my heart leaped with joy.

There is nothing better than having all of your kids at home, together.

My son tossed his bags by the front door, kicked off his shoes and sighed as he told us that it felt so good to be home. I spent years trying to get this boy to put his shoes away . . . b...

My Teen Told Me He Was Having Sex, This Is Why I’m Okay With It

My son asked me one Friday morning if he could stay after school to bike with his friends. I said yes believing with my whole heart that’s what he would be doing; he’s stayed after a few times with them before and was always where he said he’d be and with the kids he’s said he’d be with.

And since his father lives a quarter mile from the school, he planned on meeting him there at 4 and spending the night.

An hour and a half with his friends after school is a freedom he loves, and deserves. I...

Do You Know What Your Teen is Really Trying to Tell You?

I’m stinking it up as a parent AGAIN. All my kid wanted me to do was listen and I blew it. And I’d been waiting for days for him to talk to me about this one particular issue, and once he did, I went full-on parent on him. I unleashed shoulds and coulds and what-I-would-dos and added witty and poignant anecdotes for good measure. And as soon as I did, he stopped talking.

Sheesh. I knew better too, I really did.

Are you an über-parent like me? Something deep inside me wells up whenever I’m int...

When Preparing Kids For High School, Don’t Use These Words

Apparently the 8th grade teacher thought that by crumpling the student’s substandard essay and tossing it into the trash, he was effectively making the point that the student needed to be “better prepared for high school.” At least this is what he told the student as he made the histrionic gesture, and later the parent when she questioned his methods.

“He is ready for high school, he’s here,” replied the parent.

That the child had suffered a horrifically traumatic event while in fourth grade...