Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 39

Best Graduation Book Ideas: Favorites and New Releases (2024)

If you’re thinking of ways to celebrate your graduate’s accomplishments, consider one of these books as a congratulatory send-off to college or the real world. Most importantly, don’t forget to take the time to add a few lines of love of your own. Please note: We are a reader-supported site and receive compensation from purchases made through these…

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13 Breakup Care Package Ideas for the Heartbroken College Student

It can be difficult to comfort your teen or young adult when they’re going through a breakup, especially if they’re at college or living away from home. Sending them a surprise breakup care package to look forward to, like a gift basket or self-care kit, can help let them know you’re there for support and…

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How I Found My Lifelong Best Friend

When we tell the story now, late in the night, usually after a few glasses of wine, we describe the scene in perfect detail. The blue sky, the white clouds parting to reveal a ray of sunlight, the birds singing. Did music start playing? I could have sworn there was music playing. In reality it…

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How I Found My Life-Long Best Friend

When we tell the story now, late in the night, usually after a few glasses of wine, we describe the scene in perfect detail. The blue sky, the white clouds parting to reveal a ray of sunlight, the birds singing. Did music start playing? I could have sworn there was music playing. In reality it…

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I Was a College Athlete, I’m Relieved My Teens Chose Different Sports

I joined my first swim team when I was seven. It began as a summer activity, but a decade after my first race, I was a nationally ranked high school senior fielding calls from college recruiters and deciding which scholarship to accept. Swimming was my life. Until suddenly it wasn’t. And when I became a…

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Our Family Faces a Different Kind of Cliff Right Now

About 10 years ago, I took my eldest son Noe, who is on the autism spectrum, and his brother camping with friends on Orcas Island. We spent a perfect Pacific Northwest summer day climbing Mount Constitution. We were eating lunch at the top of the mountain when I turned my attention away from Noe for…

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How I Dealt with My Emotions When My Son Said ‘I’m Enlisting’

I’ve always thought of myself as a cool-headed mom. You know, the kind of mom every teenager wants to have: chill, spontaneous, with the willingness to have fun. “Oh, you and your friends want to cliff jump? Sure!” “You’re gonna go to school in shorts in freezing temperatures? Alright!” “Wait, you’re asking for a Mohawk?…

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My Late Husband Wrote a Letter to Our Son for His 18th Birthday

This is a letter written for our son’s 18th birthday by his dad. When my husband died just two years after my son’s 18th birthday, my son wanted this letter read aloud at his dad’s service so everyone could experience a different side of his father. My husband Joe was an amazing person with a…

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The Best Presidents Day Sales on Dorm Supplies, Mattress Toppers, Tech, and More

Presidents Day may be next Monday, but the deals are already live at retailers including Amazon, PB Teen, Best Buy, and Home Depot. Typically, Presidents Day sales bring HUGE price drops on appliances and mattresses. But if you’re not in the market for a new refrigerator, you can still find great price drops on tech…

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A Kitchen Table Helped Me Grieve My Father’s Dementia

I steadied my father’s hand on a fork to slowly lift a bite of potato. At that same oak table, he sat in his designated head-of-the-table chair and taught me manners before he started showing signs of the same kind of dementia Bruce Willis has, when I was 13. Now I was feeding him in…

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