Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 373

This is My Last Love Letter to You Until We Meet Again

Watching our kids turn 21 is one of life’s beautiful milestones. We gaze at their newly adult faces and reflect on how much they have grown and changed in two decades.

It is a tiny bit bitter, as we know childhood is entirely gone, but mostly sweet as we watch the wonderful adult emerge.  But if there is one thing we know for certain, one incontrovertible truth, we are truly lucky to share this moment with our kids.

Sadly not all parents get to witness this wonderful moment in their kid’s li...

Holiday Gifts Under $50 That Your College Kid Will Love

I remember moving into my first apartment like it was yesterday although it was over 20 years ago. It was fun to buy food and stock my refrigerator, but we all know after paying rent, a security deposit and utilities, there isn’t much left over when you are just starting out in your first apartment. We want our kids to succeed by being independent, but it’s nice to give them a boost. These gifts under $50 will help your college kids make their first apartments feel much more like home.

We rec...

The Top 10 Things This College Mom is Thankful for Today

Thanksgiving has always been about gratitude, but the past year has shown me a specific set of new blessings. A year ago I had just sent my firstborn to college far away, which was realllllllly hard! Today, after a year (seems like an eternity), here are my top ten mom-of-a-college-kid reasons to be thankful:

Top 10 Things College Parents Can Be Thankful For

10. Snapchat:

I communicate with my son daily using this app. It’s his communication of choice, but better than texting too I get to s...

Here are the Four Hats this Mom Wears at Christmas

’Twas the week before Christmas and I found myself sitting on the concrete floor of our storage room with a fuzzy Santa hat in my hand and a lump in my throat. As I rummaged through the tote of Christmas decorations, each item I touched triggered memories of Christmas past.

The hand-made train ornament gave me a glimpse of my father-in-law, gone five years now. The mesmerizing flurry of flakes in a snow globe—a gift from a sorority sister while I was living in snowless Memphis on a college i...

How to Better Conquer the Long Winter Break

My mom often described Winter Break as the one where she couldn’t wait for my sister or me to come home from college, but by the end of the third or fourth week she was ready for us to return to whence we came. We did have a way of turning the household upside down just by our presence.

6 Things for Parents to Know About Winter Break

1. Your kid has changed 

Your freshman has changed, even since Thanksgiving. My husband and I noticed the transformation with both of our kids. They gave off a...

This Year When the Ball Drops, Absolutely No Resolutions

The New Year is intimidating as Hell for a lot of people. That’s just the simple truth. And I think that’s because most people have a completely irrational side that distorts otherwise joyous celebrations, like New Years and the resolutions that go along with it, and makes them big and scary.

 

See, New Year’s Eve is out there, looming, for three hundred and sixty-four days, all big and fresh and untainted, with this shimmery halo of potential hovering over it. And personally, I think that s...

I Miss My Kids When They’re Home For the Holidays

No mother should be surprised to see very little of her grown children when they come home for summer college breaks and holidays. We learn this quickly the hard way. Our budding adults want to see friends and to try out their new independence on their old playgrounds. We get it, right? We’re ready.

I have been surprised to find it’s more than that. When my two daughters pop home from college for a few days or a few weeks, it is not as satisfying as I envision it to be. In fact, sometimes wh...

Feral College Kids: Why “Ignore it” is the Best Advice for the Holidays

We’ve all seen the posts on social media of depressed parents. It happens right after a child heads off to college. While kids are bolting out of their childhood homes toward the exhilarating college life, parents are left behind.

Day in and day out despondent parents look longingly at family photos and weep over vacation videos from long ago trips to Disney. It’s a tough adjustment even for the most unsentimental parent.

Meanwhile, kids are living out their dreams. They are strolling around...

Just Like That We Became the Adults at the Thanksgiving Table

And the seasons, they go round and round and the painted ponies go up and down. We’re captive on the carousel of time. Joni Mitchell

 

As Thanksgiving approaches and I begin my preparations, I think about how the complexion of our holiday table and my perception of the holiday have shifted over time.

As newlyweds, we celebrated most of the holidays with our parents. I didn’t have a clue how much effort it took to host a holiday. I knew only that we arrived at our parents to enthusiastic excla...

I Need To Do A Better Job At Nagging Less, Praising More

The other morning, I found a few library books under my teenager’s bed -again. They were long overdue and I knew it would only be a matter of days before I got another notice from the school library alerting me of a hefty overdue notice.

My blood started to boil. Not only am I tired of getting these emails from the school, I am tired of nagging my 14-year old how to take care of property that is not his. It didn’t help I found them while trying to vacuum under his bed, which was impossible.

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