Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 359

It’s Never Enough: Even “Perfect” Kids Need Not Apply

I am in the business of helping kids get admitted to their dream college. There is always that delicate balance between supporting their ambitious goals and encouraging them to be kids. The colleges tell us that grades and test scores aren’t everything, but I know better.

I spent most of my career working at elite colleges where we denied students for the slightest imperfection. I kept my mouth shut and did my job to attract more students to apply knowing that only a small percentage would su...

Why This Mom Cries When She Sees a School Bus

There – it just happened again.  As I pull out of my neighborhood on my way to work, I catch a glimpse of a school bus ahead, brake lights flashing as it inches to a stop to welcome the kids congregating on the corner. Idling in my car several lengths back, I blink back tears, embarrassed I’m suffering another mini-meltdown at what should be a very familiar – and even inconvenient scenario.

It’s been more than 12 years since my daughter first stepped on the kindergarten bus and she’s now i...

Duke Has One Goal In Mind With New Roommate Policy

In a bold move that seeks to encourage incoming freshman to get out of their comfort zone, Duke University has informed the new class of 2022 that they will no longer be allowed to choose their first year roommate. Instead, under the new roommate policy, it will be done for them – courtesy of the university.  Suffice it to day, in one fell swoop Duke has made one of the most anxiety ridden experiences about going away to college even more nerve-wracking.

And all I can say about their controve...

I’m Not Ready for an Empty Nest, But I Will Be

It’s a strange phenomenon how milestones hit us. Stuff like decade birthdays and babies being born and marriage and kids leaving for college can all whack us in the back of the head in very random and unexpected ways. Kind of like how it’s hitting me right this exact second that my youngest is rounding out the last few months of her senior year of high school. And that in just six short months, Dave and I will be setting up her dorm room, hugging that gut-wrenching goodbye, and driving home a...

It’s Easy to Get Fed Up With Your Moody Teen. Do This Instead

I remember being a teenager and all the things that came with it: The insecurity, the moodiness, the triggers, the pressure. I feel like I was pretty good when it came to controlling my mood swings, but if you asked my mother, she’d tell you a different story, I’m sure.

Seeing my teenagers go through their 50 different moods a day is frustrating as hell to say the least, but it’s made me remember the struggle – I remember feeling like my mood could change on a dime. If I stayed up too late, o...

Tables Turned: First I Pushed Them, Then They Pushed Me

All I had to do was lower myself into the choppy water with a 16-pound weight belt around my waist. And a snorkel and mask on. At which point my instructor would help me put on my Buoyancy Control Device and tank of air. A plan designed to make this first scuba experience easier for me, so I wouldn’t freak out.

I jumped in. The first thing that happened was the little ring that attaches the snorkel to the mask broke and I lost my snorkel. The second thing was that my weight belt slipped off....

Important New Guidelines on Depression: Teens Need to be Screened Every Year

Several years ago, a friend confided in me that her then pre-teen had been diagnosed with depression. At the time I wondered out loud how a parent would know if their teenager was suffering from depression as opposed to normal teen angst, and she assured me that, “You just know.” But that may not be true. Research shows that only half of adolescents with depression are diagnosed before they reach adulthood. Only two in three depressed teens are diagnosed by their primary care physicians and o...

Want to Make Our Day? Share Grown and Flown With a Friend

Have we told you before how much we LOVE it when we hear that you share Grown and Flown with your friends?  Honestly, nothing makes us happier to know that you want to spread the word about what you read here. We are also truly grateful for your support of and the wonderful ideas that you bring to the Grown and Flown Parents Facebook Group every day. And, BTW, if you are not already part of this amazing crew, jump in and see what we mean by “amazing.”

We want to do more than just say “thanks”...

The Campus Webcam is My New Favorite Obsession

Today I discovered the campus webcam.

Apparently there is a video camera that provides continuous, 24/7, real-time images of the center of my son’s college campus.

I immediately texted my son to inform him of my discovery. He did not seem impressed. His text back to me read,

“Mom don’t you have better things to do with your time?”

Surely I do have many very important things to do with my time. I have deadlines to meet, a home to run, pets that require my care. My son’s younger sister still l...

25 “Are you Kidding Me?” Thoughts Every High School Senior Mom is Having Right Now

I’ve officially hit the high school wall, and if are a high school senior mom, I bet you’re right there with me.

As I head into the homestretch of my kid’s childhood education, I find myself more fried than an egg on an Arizona highway in July. Everyday seems to bring with it a new set of school events, monies needed for those events, and ridiculous and petty arguments between my kid and me – as we begin to forge a very new and different type of parent/child dynamic: One that is now becoming...