Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 338

16 Things I Hope My Daughter Knows Before She Leaves Home

Thirteen years ago, a doctor handed me a pink bundle and said, “She’s yours.”

And while it wasn’t said out loud, I’m pretty sure the “Don’t screw her up” was implied. I could swear I heard it, though.

Since the day that pink bundle was resting on my C section scar, the weight and enormity of raising a confident, plucky, strong girl has never been far from my mind.

These days, with social media, celebrities who weigh approximately 46 pounds, mean girls, and Kim Kardashian, parents of girls hav...

She Lost the CBS News “Note to Self” Contest But Won Something Much Better

A couple of months ago I entered a submission to CBS This Morning’s Note To Self contest.  Two producers reached out to me about my submission. Though my entry wasn’t the final one chosen, those conversations led to CBS asking my son and me if we would be willing to do an interview and talk about our journey with depression, a story that I wrote about on Grown and Flown here.

CBS This Morning will broadcast Our Journey With Depression on Monday, June 18 at 8AM. 

Here is my original submissio...

Grown and Flown Summer Style: 8 Dresses with Flower Power

For those of you who follow us at G&F, you might think we object to color. And while there is strong evidence of that in our last few posts, it’s not quite the truth.

Our entire adult lives, we have heard the “age rules” –  women past a certain age should stick with neutrals, colors are aging, patterns are too youthful, blah, blah, blah.  We are here to tell you to defy those rules! Color is our love, Color is sexy, Color is vibrant. We will wear what we want, when want, thank you very much!...

Why I Was So Wrong About the Teen in 29B

As an anxious air traveler I am frequently not the most serene person with whom to travel. Consequently, on a recent Sunday morning, traveling from Florida to New York with my husband and son, I was pleased by the ease of a process that is often so taxing. With few travelers about, flights on time and virtually no lines, we sped through security exceptionally fast.

Upon boarding, I noticed a boy, actually a young man – he looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, seated in my son’s assigned se...

5 Tips for a Stress-free Summer with Your ADHD College Student

Your 19-year-old son with ADHD arrived home from college yesterday. In the blink of an eye, he dumped his overflowing laundry bag, three boxes of stuff and two bulging suitcases in the living room and quickly ran out the door, yelling something about meeting his friends.

Yes, your very own, lovable tornado has returned, leaving a path of his junk in his wake. Instead of sharing the family reunion meal you’ve planned, you’re feeling disrespected again–as if no time has passed since he left in...

My Kid Isn’t a B Team Player (Or, Is He?)

This week I received an email from a concerned parent, seeking a little counsel….

My second son has been on the top team (of four) on our neighborhood’s travel soccer team. We just got word last night following three days of tryouts that he has been offered a spot on the second team for next year. Am trying to play it cool and be the moderated parent, but am having to check all kinds of emotions (from “why the hell do we do this at age 10” to “really, he starts for the top team for 2 years an...

One Highly Selective University Does Away With the SAT and ACT, Will Others Follow?

Four hours.

Just four hours on a Saturday morning has the power to alter a high school student’s future from one they’ve always dreamt of to one they’ve always feared.

I’m talking about the dreaded rite of passage known as college entrance exams – or more specifically, that unbudging requirement saying every high school junior seeking admission to a four year college or university needs to take the SAT, ACT, or ideally both.

Four hours.

For some students, that Saturday morning spent squirmin...

Dad Rents Billboard To Congratulate Valedictorian Son and It’s Ridiculous

I’m going to go ahead and say it: my kids are the “smart kids” in school.

Neither of my teenaged children have struggled much, if at all, during their academic careers. From the time they were small, both children read beyond their grade level by several years, excelled in math and science and have maintained high grades while juggling sports, scouts, and school activities.

They are the kids whose names are read at awards ceremonies and we have a pile of certificates, trophies and plaques com...

Here’s To The Loving Men Who Stepped In When My Father Stepped Out

Days after my father gave up his paternal responsibilities by abandoning his wife and two teenage boys, it was Father’s Day, and we were left in a bad situation. We had just moved into our fifth house in four years, and it needed extensive renovations. At first, we were all happy about the purchase of the new house because it meant we were establishing roots in our new town. We had been renting a townhouse since we moved from Texas the year before to chase yet another job, this time in Southe...

Here are the 43 Mom Names That Will Make You Laugh

What do your kids call you? How are you listed in their contact information on their phone?

One of our moms asked those questions and hundreds of other moms responded. And we so love the creative nicknames that our beloved children come up with, we had to share.

While we’d like to believe that their loving monikers refer to our superpowers, we’re not at all convinced that our kids would agree with that assessment. In collecting pet names that kids use for their moms, we saw a coalescing arou...