Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 339

These Five Words Helped Me Win The Curfew Battle

Here’s the problem: I can’t sleep at night until I know my kids are home safely.  I try, and I just can’t. I’m a worrier.

This makes summer a disaster because my husband and I both work full-time and are up before 6 each morning – meaning I’m a sleep-deprived mess when my kids are out late. It’s also a disaster because our kids (two in college, one in high school) are really unhappy about the 11 p.m. weeknight curfew we impose. Especially our middle child.

While our oldest daughter didn’t lik...

My Teens Don’t Have Summer Jobs And I’m Okay With That

It finally dawned on me a few years ago that this whole parenting thing is just a lengthy sequence of lessons in serenity.

Perhaps because both my children were blessed with strong wills, I have absorbed and accepted this realization to the absolute core of my being. I’ve reached the point where I quickly know when to give up the fight – and when to not even contemplate starting one.

Months ago, both of my kids decided that they were going take a college course during their summer break. For...

Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow: Book Giveaway

Sally Koslow, former editor-in-chief of McCall’s, is the author of just-released Another Side of Paradise: A Novel[image error], the story of the tumultuous love affair between F. Scott Fitzgerald and gossip columnist Sheilah Graham. Set in 1930s Hollywood, this is a meticulously researched story of the scandalous affair between the famous writer and, at the time, much more successful younger woman.

Accolades have begun pouring in for Another Side of Paradise:

“Koslow’s imagined account of the real-life a...

Dating Violence, Do Not Call Me a Victim

Trigger warning: this post contains a graphic description of  dating violence.

I am sharing my story because as I navigated this terrain it became clear that I was not alone. I’m sharing this to raise awareness that, although we have come so far as a society, we still have so far to go about dating violence.  I am sharing this because I dated this guy for six weeks, was not even technically “in a relationship,” ended it due to his anger and behavior, but none of that was enough to protect me...

5 Things I Learned During My Freshman Year In College

Well, I blinked, and my first year of college was over. In all honesty, a few weeks ago I felt like it was never going to end, but, in retrospect, it really was the quickest year of my life. As I reflect on my freshman year, the only word I can use to describe my feelings is grateful.

I am grateful for a school that welcomed me, for parents who believed in me, for a roommate who became my best friend, for friends who supported and encouraged me, for a boy who loved me despite the distance, fo...

Summer Style at Grown and Flown : The White Album

In the last summer style post, Mara sang the praises of wearing all black all summer and I’m totally on board for a monochromatic wardrobe that is simple, easy, stylish. But, how about white?

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

My sister has a BFF who is very zen/yoga/clean and she wears only white, all white, all year round. She always looks ultra-chic, youthful and elegant. There’s nothing like an all-white outfit to give you a glow...

The Books We Absolutely Loved Reading This Year – Perfect for Summer Reading

Now that the kids are off doing their own thing, there is perhaps a little more time for one of our favorite activities, reading for pleasure. We asked your fellow Grown and Flown parents what books they are reading and loving. There were many books that readers liked, but here are the ones that were mentioned over and over and over. Consider this your start to summer reading.

Note: We receive small amounts of compensation from the Amazon links on this page.  

Little Fires Everywhere [image error]

by Celes...

My Daughter Taught Me A Tough Lesson in Kindness

If there’s one trait I’ve tried to instill in my children, it’s kindness. My 21-year-old has it in spades. She’s the kid with the big heart, the girl everyone confided in, a leader in her church youth group and sports team. She’s the kid who worked with kids in Ghana and Thailand and talked about becoming a minister.

She’s the kid who gave her parents minimal sass as a teen and who lived up to our every hope—good grades, admission to a great college (even though she believes standardized test...

My Youngest Graduates This Weekend and I’m a Mess

So just as a clarifier, I’m a super-emotional person on a good day. Like, I’m the type who sees a cute Huggies ad or a commercial for assisted living and instantaneously loses control over my tear ducts. And God forbid I hit any kind of milestone with either of my kids and I’m even more pathetic. I guess you could say I’m a real feeler.

Lately, though, as I count down the days until my youngest graduates from high school, I’ve been in a weird emotional headspace that not even I’m used to, and...

After Years Of Raising Teens, It’s Time For Me To Be Selfish And I’m Not Sorry

Last fall, I was slapped in the face with the questions nearly all parents eventually have to answer:

“Who am I now that my child is an adult?”

“How will I use this time?”

“Where do I want to be?”

“What do I have to offer this world?”

These questions danced around my head for several years leading up to the Launching the Young Adult, but they didn’t even begin to crystallize until his senior year in high school.

And yet……this week, I’m preparing for a week-long writing retreat — this will be...