Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 447

Parenting Teens and College Kids: How We Learn to Let Go

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At Grown and Flown we explore parenting teens and young adults. Whether it is something as simple and fun as shopping: Top 12 Dorm Shopping...

I Hate Driving to the Airport, In the Rain, Crying

I hate driving to the airport. I hate driving to the airport in therain. I hate driving to the airport in the rain while I’m crying, but that’s what I’m doing: dropping off my son as he relocates to Nashville to begin his music career. This major transition, fast on the heels of my move from our former family home to a small apartment, brings the passage of time into sharp focus. I wish I could say the same for the road.

A strong storm moves up the coast as we make our way to La Guardia; pr...

Winter Break: 31 Ways Students Can Make the Most of January

Each December, parents welcome returning students with open arms, not flinching at the mountain of dirty clothes they drag into front hallways. But as winter break inches along and the holiday merriment winds down, parental goodwill toward nearly grown kids can become as brittle as the Christmas tree abandoned at the end of the driveway.

Arguments over curfew, drinking and sleeping arrangements can easily upend family harmony. But even if those landmines are avoided, the mismatch between pare...

New Year’s Resolutions: Now That Your Kids are (Nearly) Grown

Every December since becoming a parent I have vowed to do better. I promised to spend more time playing on the floor with my kids. I swore I would volunteer at school more regularly. I pledged to be more patient with my teens and later to send care packages to college. Each year, I made my parenting new year’s resolutions.

Every year there were new promises and new failures (this year’s care package, sent through Amazon, wound up on my own front doorstep). Despite this I am prepared to look...

Teenagers: I Want to Remember These Last Times

I don’t remember that last time that any of my babies (now teenagers) nursed. I don’t remember that last night that I rocked one of my children to sleep or peppered a fat little belly with kisses. When was the last time that I nibbled on a row of tiny toes or the last night that one of our children stumbled sleepy-eyed into our bedroom in the middle of the night? I don’t know when it happened, but I looked up one day and all of my children were big kids.

Thank God that I did not realize at t...

Joining the Army: An 18 Year Old and His Mom

When an 18 year old began to consider joining the army, his mom forgot her aggravation at his piles of dirty clothes, fights with a younger brother, and stench of Axe. She longed to keep him safe at home.

The card was sitting on my desk, along with my son’s bus pass and some loose change. His toothbrush lay nearby, white toothpaste residue encircling the head of the toothbrush like a halo. I’d have missed the business card except for the large letters, “ARMY,” marching across the card, the r...

Fantasy Football: Big Thanks for Being the Guy Glue

Week 14 of the NFL season wrapped up this week. I know this because I have two teenage sons, and the fall and winter are guided by the ebb and flow of football, notably fantasy football. This week also marks the end of my college freshman son’s final exams, and his return home.

I have been measuring time in NFL weeks. My son left for college before his fantasy draft week; I wouldn’t see him again until Week 6; Family Weekend was Week 9; Thanksgiving Break was Week 12; and yay, Week 14 was th...

Winter Break: How to Peacefully Coexist With your College Kid

College kids long for the luxurious winter break between fall and spring semesters. But as time passes, family stress levels can shoot sky-high as parents and their offspring engage in a renegotiation of rules and roles that were once well-defined. Lisa has written a guide for parents grappling with returning college students for Today.com. An excerpt follows:

Many parents of college students are eagerly counting the days until winter break and looking forward to some quality family time. It...

Early Decision: The Wait is Like a Plague

The clock ticks slowly once a senior pushes the “send” button on an early decision application. The wait is agonizing, and feels like being in a horror movie about plagues of epic misfortune.

Waiting. It’s all anyone’s talking about.

Acquaintances in line at the grocery store, heads tipped conspiratorially together at holiday concerts, clusters on the sidelines of sporting events, and any seasonal party attended by the frayed, exhausted, and justifiably pickled parents of high school seniors....

“Dear Freshman Parent,” You Need to Know THIS About Your Student

A form letter came today from the Dean for Freshman at the university where my son just completed his first semester, and I have to admit that although, at first glance, the letter appeared to be written in my native tongue, it took several readings for me to get to the bottom of what they were trying to tell me (and all the other parents).

The opening salvo:

The end of the semester is almost here and your students will be returning home for the semester break shortly. It is natural for you...