Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 381

When a Roommate has a Boyfriend and a Double Becomes a Triple

When my first-semester roommate invited her boyfriend into our dorm room one night many years ago, I didn’t know it at the time but I was in the process of being “sexiled.”

Instead of leaving our room night after night when my roommate’s boyfriend inched his way onto her bed, I suffered in silence with my pillow plopped over my head, trying to pretend that was how I actually preferred to sleep. This awkward ritual added to the general malaise I felt my first semester at college, and though I...

When a Roommate has a Boyfriend and a Double Becomes a Triple!

When my first-semester roommate invited her boyfriend into our dorm room one night many years ago, I didn’t know it at the time but I was in the process of being “sexiled.”

Instead of leaving our room night after night when my roommate’s boyfriend inched his way onto her bed, I suffered in silence with my pillow plopped over my head, trying to pretend that was how I actually preferred to sleep. This awkward ritual added to the general malaise I felt my first semester at college, and though I...

Senior Mom: Yikes, What Will My Life be in a Post-Kid World?

When I first quit my job to stay home with my kids I had big plans. Being with my kids was my only job and I was going to make the most of it. Those warnings about “appreciating the time with your kids because it goes by so fast” were not going to be lost on me!

I learned, rather quickly, however, that it’s really hard to appreciate EVERY moment, like the ones when, sleep-deprived and delirious, I would curl up on the floor of my younger son’s bedroom, praying that my mere proximity to him w...

This May be the Most Adorable Senior Year Tradition, Ever

Every high school has its lofty and unassailable senior year traditions, North Farmington in Farmington Hills, Michigan is no exception. The entire senior class dresses up as popular celebrities, television stars and film characters for their senior student ID. They then tweet out a photo of their ID, alongside a picture of their famous doppelgänger together with an iconic quote from the star.

Here are some great ones to check out:

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the...

College Care Package Ideas for Every Kind of Student

Even in the age of Amazon, when retailers sells seemingly everything online, college kids LOVE receiving a care package. For the generation that can go an entire semester without once checking their mailbox, there is nothing as exciting as that email telling them a package has arrived.  While we are not huge fans of the pre-made care package, there are many great ones available and they can be found here. They often consist of carefully selected items, but you know your kid best and you know...

My Daughter’s Roommate Left College and Here’s Why You Need to Know

Two weeks ago, I dropped my older daughter off at college. She was all set and ready to go. She had met her roommate through a Facebook group set up for kids going to the college and hit it off with her immediately. The next few months became all about coordinating the room in the same color scheme, getting together for meet-ups, and having dinner in the city at times to really feel the “roommate bond.”

Move-in was uneventful, even pleasant. The college had it so well-orchestrated that it to...

It Was the Last Good Race But I Didn’t Know it at the Time

When your children stop doing a sport or an activity that your family has been part of for a long time, it’s a milestone. We’ve been on a swim team for eight years and now my kids are ready to move on (even if I’m not). Being on that team is what made the amorphous collection of pre-planned subdivisions where we live feel like a community. It was also something that we did together – all the kids on the same team and the parents serving as volunteers. It was a shared experience.

At our last...

Senior Pictures: What Were YOU Feeling That Day?

“This is the last time I am going to ask. When is your appointment for senior pictures and what are you going to wear?”

I got the date out of him but not what he was going to wear. Days go by. Two nights before, I couldn’t take it and I asked yet again. Old habits die hard.

“What are you going to wear?” I said. I was slightly less nice this time clearly enunciating every vowel, every word. I closed my eyes to concentrate on delivering the sentence. I could even see the words behind my eyelid...

Is Your College Student Stressed Out? 20 Things They Can Do

Last school year, I polled a small group of college students about what made them feel the most stressed in college. Mostly juniors, their answers varied but were all specifically related to not having enough time to do everything required of them. Why did these students not elaborate with reports of disparaging feelings of overwhelm, doom, or stress? Did they know what stress looked like on themselves?

It turns out these kids are not only academically involved, but heavily socially involved...

The Happy Chaos When Grown Kids Return Home

I had begun the letting go, the leaving in increments a few years ago: The brave good-byes in college dorms, followed by tears. The last-minute hugs before Uber rides to the airport.  The packing up of stuff left behind.

I taught them to leave, but I was left with almost empty rooms where memories lived like ghosts. Old baseball jerseys shared space in my son’s closet with a box of golf trophies and a Coach’s Award for Excellence. Yoga books shared shelves with figure skating medals in my da...