Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 369

I Yelled at the Dog But It’s the Kids Who Shatter My Nerves at Christmas!

It all began when I yelled at my dog. Now, everyone knows I’m not particularly fond of my dog, but I’m also the first to admit he’s not bad as dogs go. He’s well-behaved, eager-to-please and wants only two things out of life. Food and love. I can give him half of what he needs.

He has this annoying habit of looking at me. I’ll be in the kitchen slicing shrubbery for a yet another low-calorie creation and he sits ten feet away, looking at me. I know what’s going on in his simple little mind....

Sexual Assault on Campus: 7 Tips for Parents

Author Vanessa Grigoriadis visited dozens of college campuses and spoke with hundreds of students and administrators in researching the complex and important topic of sexual assault. She offers this advice for parents of teens and college students and answered more reader questions in the Grown and Flown Facebook Live below.

7 Tips for Parents Concerning Sexual Assault on Campus

1. Know what’s in the university’s handbook.

Read, don’t speed-read, the sexual-misconduct section of your teen’s u...

My 6 Sons Always Help Decorate the Christmas Tree But Not This Year

The holidays are a big deal at my house.
We have traditions up the ying-yang. It all starts the day after Thanksgiving, when we set up our Christmas Tree.
But this year, my son didn’t come home.
For the first time ever.
And it hurt.

Usually, we pull out the tree, my boys and I. My husband has to work. It takes us all day to get the tree put together, the lights and tinsel on, and the rest of the Christmas decorations up.

Then I cut cheese and meat. We set out a plate of cheese and crackers a...

Life Lessons From An Open Dishwasher

Recently, I conducted an experiment in my kitchen. I didn’t mean to. It just happened.

I didn’t make slime or a build a baking soda volcano, but rather I inadvertently left the door open on the dishwasher.

And by open, I mean completely open… all the way to the floor, the bottom rack of clean dishes pulled out. I had every intention of emptying it, but I became distracted with other things.

Day one of the open dishwasher turned into day two, and instead of putting the dishes away, I had a th...

What Hurt My Son When He Looked up at the Fans in the Bleachers

I attended each one of my son’s games. He could always count on me and his sister to be there. As most baseball players do, he had a ritual he would do each time he took the field. He would run out to the field write a little something with his finger in the dirt, then look up at me and point. It was his thing and I loved that he included me in his ritual.

He knew I was always there. His father worked nights for the past twenty years so he missed out on most of his games. My son Jorden knew...

10 Ways to Help Your Kid When They Want to Make New Year’s Resolutions

From losing weight to getting organized, many people to think about ways they can improve their life, health and overall happiness in the beginning of a new year. New Years’ resolutions are pretty popular and so are breaking resolutions. Many fitness centers tend to be packed in January with people who have resolved to get fit and lose weight, but by March it becomes pretty easy to find empty machines in the gym.

If you a parent of a teen who has made a new year’s resolution, you face an int...

When Will Our Teenagers Stop Being Hypocritical Jerks?

A hypocrite, as we all know, is a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. A hypocrite is also a teenager, no other definition required. And I say this for a very specific reason.

I love my kids. Truly, I do. But I’m being honest when I say that as my children have slid into the teenager/young adult phase of their lives, I think I understand why animals eat their young. Because, damn. Damn. Damn. Damn.

It’s like, no matter what we do as parents to teach our...

The 10 Things I Say to My Teens When They are Stressed Out

The other day, I was text-talking to my college freshman when she was in between classes. She was using the time to look for shoe boots online and was sending me pictures to get my feedback.

I was asking mom questions like “are they lined?” and “do they have grippy soles?” and then told her to send me the link so I could order them.  A few hours later, I got a follow-up text from her that said, “I’ll send the link later.” Just. That. No exclamation point (“Hey! These shoe boots are going to...

Has Your Kid Broken the Academic Probation News to You?

All around the country, happy Moms and Dads are posting pictures of family reunions. At the airport or the train station or in front of the Christmas tree, smiling parents are “so happy to have our baby back under our roof after the first semester of college!”

They may be smiling in the picture, but many of these freshmen are covering up a sense of impending doom. Sooner or later, Mom and Dad are going to ask about grades, open up the parent portal, or see the letter that details just how ba...

When it’s Time to Retire as Santa

I have lost my job. I only just realized this today.

It happened so gradually that I didn’t even notice the signs – though clearly I should have. Like many who work in the same position for a long time, I’d become awfully good at it, and I took a lot of pride in the work I did.

It had become a big part of my identity, too, even as I might be heard to complain about its duties, its low pay, its thankless, never-ending tasks, especially around year-end. I guess it was because I’d held the job s...