Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 358

My Son’s Braces Are Gone and So Is His Baby Face

We paused outside of the orthodontist’s office for one last picture of my son with his braces.

Today was two and a half years in the making: his braces were finally coming off.

Though he’s used to me documenting his childhood milestones with silly selfies and pictures of him with his friends, my son still rolled his eyes as I dug my camera out of my purse.

“Smile!” I sang.

He leaned up against the brick wall and rewarded me with a huge, metal mouthed grin.

Christine Burke

I had no way of know...

I Have Been Taking All the Wrong Pictures of My Daughter

I’m taking the wrong pictures.

My daughter is a 16-year old sophomore. She’s almost to the halfway point of her high school existence, and I’ve secretly started to compile years of photos to show at the graduation party we have yet to plan.

So far, these are the photos I’ve put aside (or they might be one of the 4,000 images languishing inside my phone). There’s the first-day-off-the-bus-from-kindergarten picture. First smile-after-the-tooth- fairy-came photo. Hundreds and hundreds of photos...

We Absolutely Made the Choice to be Friends With Our Kids

“I hate you!” – hearing your child scream this at you is not a rite of passage as a parent so why do many parents wear it as a badge of pride?

We are friends with our sons – against much of the published advice, we made a conscious decision to be friends with our children.  As parents of young children, well-meaning people were filled with advice and much of it sounded like this, “They don’t need more friends – what they need are parents.” (why is this mutually exclusive I would wonder), “Whe...

When You Have Kids Young, This is What Happens When They Leave You

So this is it. This is really it for me.

My goals of raising children have officially been achieved. All those nights of staying up late doing laundry, making dinner at 1 a.m. for the next day just so things can run smoothly and I’ll have time to feed everyone before my son’s baseball game and have extra time to make sure my daughter’s homework is done.

All the days I made miracles happen when money was short and somehow everyone’s need were met. Analyzing my discipline methods on a daily bas...

So This is Love: I Am Just Like You, Mom

I am just like you, Mom….

I call out to my child, ripe into the teenage years, an umpteen number of times. She does not respond. Then I barge into her room. “What???” she quips, with headphones plugged into her ears, the annoyance in her tone is a signal for me to leave. Her piercing gaze reflects the turbulence of the growing up years. She sounds harsh to fiercely guard the conflicting emotions that play in her heart and mind.

Contrary to what she thinks, she needs me now more than she did i...

On the Eve of His Engagement, All My Son Needs

Seated on a two-seater couch in my hotel room, my 22-year-old son fixes his gaze on mine, his expression a powerful mix of love, hope and excitement.

I see just a glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes. I’m nervous, too.

I reach into my handbag to take out a small box, the transfer of which is the reason I’ve flown to Boston to meet him. The box holds the engagement ring I wore for decades, set with a stone handed down through his father’s family for generations. Only three weeks earlier, I had t...

Networking: 8 Tips That Explain How to Do it Like a Pro

Whether you are a college student just starting out, looking to enhance your own career, or are in the process of re-inventing yourself, building relationships is a key to success. Many people tell you to start networking but few explain how to do it. Pat Hedley shares eight tips from her book, Meet 100 People. 

8 Networking Tips Start close to home

Friends, family and neighbors can all be helpful in expanding your network. Alumni groups are terrific too. Seek out contacts from among your...

My Underage Daughter Wanted A Beer. Why I Said Yes

On a family vacation during our daughter’s senior year of high school, Lizzie and I sat on the patio of our Balinese guesthouse, watching the sun set over rice patties. In a way, it felt like the sun was setting on our family life as we knew it. Lizzie was heading to college soon and everything senior year somehow felt like a “last.” Our last parents night. Our last cross-country meet. Our last parent/teacher conferences. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia for the tiny baby she’d been as I lo...

My Daughter Applied to 14 Colleges and That Was Perfect for Her

Let me start out by saying my husband thinks I am crazy sometimes. I believe he and I just think differently. Opposites attract and we go about life in two different ways. This is true especially when it comes to making decisions. He likes to get straight to the point, and doesn’t see the big picture. I like to have space, give myself an opportunity to come to a decision on my terms, allow big choices to ferment like a good wine.

Our differences could not have been more true than when our you...

College Graduation: My Daughter Will Do it Her Way

“Dad, I’m not going to my college graduation this spring,” my daughter announced at supper one night. “It’s a waste of time and I’m just not doing it.” I stared at her in shock.

She just started her senior year at my alma mater, the University of Connecticut, where she’s studying Psychology. Since I’d been the first in my family to graduate from college, celebrating her milestone was a big deal. And helping with the tuition tab, I thought I’d have more of a say.

Back when I earned my business...