Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 451
October 8, 2015
Really Important Stuff My Kids Continue to Teach Me
One morning, more than 20 years ago, I paused to watch my daughter Alex make her way to the sandbox after I dropped her off at preschool. Wendy, one of the teachers, came over to me and together we watched the 3- and 4-year olds laugh and dash about and carom off one another in the fenced-in playground. One little girl skipped over to another who was standing alone by the door and admonished, “C’mon, play! Don’t just watch!” As we absorbed this declaration about the importance of engaging in...
Top Reader Questions (and Answers) on Parenting Teens And College Kids
One of the most gratifying thing about creating Grown and Flown is the community of parents who have offered each other guidance, compassion and wisdom. Every day parents write to us asking questions about parenting teens and college kids. We pose their questions (entirely anonymously) on our Facebook page and the outpouring of advice and friendship is enough to move you to tears.
While we might each feel alone in our parenting struggles, a quick look at the Grown and Flown Facebook page will...
Freshman Year is Not the Real Goodbye
The day that we dreamed of, looked forward to, and planned for since, well, birth, is here. Our youngest began her senior year of college and graduation is on our minds. Bursting with pride as our daughter stood in our doorway at the crack of dawn, surrounded by a mountain of suitcases, I went in with a big hug and said, “You’ve got this girlfriend!” and added a silent cheer as she and her dad drove out the driveway. After three years of seeing her off, it’s getting easier.
October 6, 2015
Love, Mom and Dad: Letters from Home
One of the biggest surprises to me, as a newly minted parent of a college student, came when my freshman son told me he was disappointed that he never receives mail at school. Other than when he drove over the mailbox at home, I never thought he was actually aware there were things like mail delivery and written letters with stamps.
Mail was the lifeline when I, and maybe you, were in college. The anticipation and trip to the campus post office was the day’s highlight. Letters from home, card...
October 5, 2015
Texts Our Kids Send Us After They Move Out
We asked our Grown and Flown Facebook Friendsto share texts their kids sent them after they left for college.
How about your family? Any funny exchanges you would be willing to reveal (no names included) to give other parents a view into your son or daughter’s sense of text-humor? Please visitour Facebook page here and add to the list.
1. When you discovered that the time of day (or night) matters.
October 1, 2015
Sibling Separation
Last weekend, as my 14-year-old daughter was getting ready for her first homecoming dance, I could hear her upstairs talking and laughing with her older sister who was watching her curl her hair and giving her tips for the big night.
Her older sister who is 300 miles away at college.
Happily, it’s not an unusual sight, sound, or occurrence in our house despite that fact—you know, the fact that the older daughter refused to be home-colleged and insisted on spreading her wings and all that othe...
September 30, 2015
Once Upon a Twin XL Mattress
My youngest son walked into my home office and leaned against my desk as I checked flights from the small airport only a few miles away from our home to his college 500 miles away. In a few short months he would move into his dorm and start his freshman year. I looked up to ask him whether he wanted to take an early morning flight or one in the afternoon. With a pained look not unlike a boss having to fire yet another employee, he told me he needed to talk with me about something.
“What’s goi...
Moving Day: When Kids Have Their Own New Nests
Over the past month, my three children — ages 23, 20 and 18 — have feathered three new nests. It’s been an exciting and exhausting time; my house has been turned upside down, with pictures stripped off walls and books plucked off shelves. The flurry of activity has kept me so busy that I’ve barely had time to consider what would happen when the last boxes were sealed and the final goodbyes were said.
Before the moving process began, I held a virtual family tag sale. I scoured the attic and ba...
September 29, 2015
The Problem With the College Application is the Past
I visited a single college, applied, was accepted and matriculated. The reasons for this choice were poor (see below) and there is no question I should have done it differently. With my eldest child, I hit the road and we saw colleges the length of the Eastern Seaboard. Coincidence? Not really.
While the college application should be entirely about our kids, our own history and lingering feelings about past decisions taint the process from beginning to end. At the point when we should look fo...
Only 50% of College Grads Think Their Degrees are Worth It
New data out today from the national Gallup-Purdue Index (GPI) popped up in our news feed:
In the face of mounting debt, only half of all alumni… “strongly agree” their university education was worth the cost.
It took me aback to think that 15,000 of the 30,000 college grads included in this comprehensive annual study now question the value of their degree. When college is a dream for so many parents that begins to swirl in our heads concurrent with thinking of baby names, I wonder, how did t...
