Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 433

I Dreaded My Sons Moving Home But This is What Happened

I had an idea for a humorous blog post about having all my boys home this month. As much as I love my sons, I admit that I was kind of dreading having a full house again, after the relative peace and quiet of only having one at home. I actually felt a sense of impending doom in May before my two older sons returned home.

I knew my oldest son, who recently graduated law school, would be moving home with the entire contents of his DC apartment, not just a dorm room’s worth of stuff, like my mi...

Hearing Loss: The Risk to Teens is Real and Irreversible

Are you looking for a way to talk to your teens about hearing loss? You should be. One in five teens now suffers from hearing loss, most of which is noise-induced, which is 100% preventable. It is hard to get through to teens who often feel physically invincible and more concerned with peer pressure than parental guidance. Yet, they need to understand the serious risks. Hearing damage is irreversible. There is no cure.

Here’s a letter I used with my children. Feel free to share it with your...

The Best College Admissions Blogs

As a first time parent going through the college admissions process I was continually lost and confused. I often turned to parents who had preceded me on this path, but in truth their advice was often specific to their own kid or contradicted what another parent had told me.

Then I stumbled on a font of insight and expert information. I discovered College Admissions Blogs. In the college admissions, desert I found an oasis.

Somehow my internet travels led me to Dean J’s College Admissions bl...

Asthma Goes to College: FREE Book to Share With Your Kid

All parents of college-bound children want to talk about responsibilities regarding academics, finances, behavior, keeping in touch, and staying safe and healthy. For parents of kids with asthma, that last piece is particularly important.

There are approximately 22 million college students in the U.S., and almost 10% of those students have asthma. There’s a minefield of asthma triggers at college, but with planning and management your child, and you, can breathe easier.

Just in time for head...

How to Shut Down Your Kids’ Idiotic Excuses For Not Voting

I feel strongly about this election, really strongly. But the truth is I always feel that way. My country doesn’t ask much from me: serve on jury duty, pay taxes and go vote. The very least I can do to live in a free democracy is to jump into a voting booth for a few minutes every few years.

APPARENTLY our kids do NOT feel the same way. 18-24 year olds don’t vote. They just don’t. In the last presidential election they voted at half the rate of their parents. And while I know there is a laun...

It Doesn’t Matter To Me Where My Kids Go to College

I’m going to say something a bit unheard of in modern times. I am done pretending. I know my thoughts are anathema for most parents.

Here goes …

I don’t care where my children go to college. I’m not saying that I don’t care because my kids are complete failures destined for a life of living in my basement watching Family Guy reruns. And I’m not saying I don’t care in the but-deep-down-I’m-hoping-they-get-a-full-ride-to-Harvard way. Nope, it isn’t any of that.

I really don’t care where they...

5 Reasons Your Teen Should Start Their Own Business This Summer

When my daughter was 9, she and her best friend decided to start a business. They didn’t want a lemonade stand, as I had suggested. They wanted to have a “real” business they told me. They spent an afternoon on the patio trying to decide what kind of business they could start. Finally, they came up with their idea. They wanted to make their own version of snow globes and sell them. My daughter’s friend remembered having done this at a birthday party once, and knew how easy they were to make....

I Want My 20-Year-Old To Learn These 20 Life Lessons

My eldest son just turned 20. I don’t even know what to do with that number. It means I’m old, for one. Like, really old. And yet I also remember exactly where I was when I turned 20: in college, taking a Shakespeare midterm. I remember the shape of my bedroom, those who passed through it, the ’50s-era flowered thrift store blouse I was wearing that day because I was going through my ironic June Cleaver phase. I remember the show I was in. I could probably even still do those dance moves from...

What Happens After You Drop Off Your Youngest Child at College

Two weeks ago, my youngest child sat in her high school gym wearing her overpriced, black nylon robe, and joined her classmates in that ritualized ceremony called high school graduation. And in two months, she will pack up way more belongings than she will need, and we will deposit her at her chosen college.

And my husband and I will come home alone for the first time in nearly 26 years.

I’ve been through this twice before with her older siblings, though both were vastly different experiences...

All The Wrong Words To Say At College Drop Off

I had memorized every word the night before and it would be perfect. By 2:19 a.m., I knew exactly what I was going to say and do when we dropped off our oldest son at college the following day.

I would stand before my child, like the Virgin Mary. Offering gentle outstretched hands with my head leaning just slightly to the side, I would pull my son in close. Reaching up to smooth his hair, his trusting eyes would search out mine. I would smile with peaceful restraint and sigh, “My beautiful ba...