Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 441

March Madness in a House Divided

My husband and I attended rival colleges in Southern California in the 1980’s. His was the “football school” and mine was the “basketball school.” Back in the day, many called his school the snobby one, and on my campus, we prided ourselves on our academic superiority.

Throughout our marriage, we have been a House Divided which took on even greater meaning when our daughter began applying to colleges in her senior year of high school. My husband and I both not-so-secretly hoped she’d end up a...

Leadership Roles: If Everyone is Leading, Who is Following?

I’ve spent the better part of the last few months helping a teenager fill out an assortment of personal applications. From college and scholarship applications, to job, club, honor society, and collegiate organizations, he’s diligently had to make a personal pitch in the hopes of earning whatever position or accolade they are offering.

As I review his applications, I wonder how on earth, in two pages, can my 17 year son can convey what type of person he is to a group of strangers and why are...

Prom Dress Shopping Survival Guide for Moms

Ah prom! That magical season of romance, festivity, and outrageous promposals. Whether she’s going with a group of friends, her true love, or the guy who sent 10,000 balloons to your house with his request for her to be his date written on ONE of them, your daughter will need a dress. This means that a prom dress shopping trip is in your near future.

It’s serious business, finding the perfect prom dress. Even the most laid back mom and the most low-key teen can become frazzled. As the day we...

Older Brother to Little Brother: 5 Things You Need to Know

High school students (and to a lesser extent, college students) are at one of the strangest points in life – they have what sometimes passes as an adult brain, but they also have very little perspective on what matters. When possible, I try to nudge my little brother in the right direction. Before we play video games together online, for instance, I ask him if he’s completed his work. I attended one of his debate tournaments this past fall, hoping that I could encourage his participation in o...

Advice from Moms: The Art of the “BlurtText”

What teen doesn’t jump with joy at the sight of a text from their mother? These parents perfected the art of the “BlurtText” – advice from moms doled out one tiny text at a time.

Dear Parents with Kids in College, let’s speak honestly. We are neglected by our darling children. How can we get them to listen to us from a distance? We have important advice from moms that will keep them alive! Our solution is the BlurtText.

The BlurtText is no small art form. It is a feat of beauty, accomplished...

When There’s Autism in the Family: Liane Kupferberg Carter

Liane Kupferberg Carter has written a memoir of a modern American family. With great tenderness, she tells us about her parents and extended family, her husband, Marc, and two children using skills she honed in her career as a writer and journalist. In each deeply moving chapter of Ketchup is My Favorite Vegetable: A Family Grows Up with Autismwe learn about Mickey, her 23-year-old younger son, who is on the Autism Spectrum. In describing life with Mickey, Carter covers the entire arc of pare...

Why it’s Wrong to Be a Texting (Only) Family

I’m at my desk in California, so it’s still morning when my daughter calls from a Chicago deli where she’s ordering lunch. “Oh, you’re there,” she says, sounding surprised I’ve answered, and possibly disappointed. “I’m waiting for them to make me a sandwich, then I have to run.”

We need to pin down travel plans, so I pull up my calendar and make notes while she runs down the days she can get off work. The next thing I know she has her sandwich. Our connection is gone. And I realize as much a...

Why it’s Wrong to Be a Texting Family

I’m at my desk in California, so it’s still morning when my daughter calls from a Chicago deli where she’s ordering lunch. “Oh, you’re there,” she says, sounding surprised I’ve answered, and possibly disappointed. “I’m waiting for them to make me a sandwich, then I have to run.”

We need to pin down travel plans, so I pull up my calendar and make notes while she runs down the days she can get off work. The next thing I know she has her sandwich. Our connection is gone. And I realize as much a...

To the Moms of Grown Sons: What We Want Them to Know

After reading 4 Things Grown Sons Want Their Moms to Know by third year law student Eric Fischer, and taking note of all the acclaim it drew in the parent blogosphere, I had an epiphany. Perhaps, just as there are certain things we don’t understand about our grown sons, there may be a few things that they don’t understand about us. I am hoping to clear up these misconceptions for the collective of all the sons of all the moms in the world, so listen up kids.

First, let’s get a few things str...

8 Best Websites for Parents to Share With Their College Kids

My kids know a whole lot more about the online world than I do. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes they can’t use a bit of input from parents. They may be worried about finding places to eat, their friends and football scores, but here are a few websites for other things I hope to show them.

Best Websites for College Kids 1. Retailers, cultural institutions, transportation, and even insurers offer student discounts.

Here is a short listfrom StudentRate.But every time your student goes to bu...