Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 57

At Midlife: All The Things I Think, But Do Not Say

Hello. My name is Carrie. I am almost forty-four years old. I am married to a man name Joe, and we have five kids. As I approach the middle of my fifth decade, I am noticing more and more all the things I think, but I do not say. My body is changing First of…

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The ‘N*ot College’ Option: Five Things to Know About Service Academies

So…your kid wants to be a Mid. What does that even mean? (In this case, it means a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy). No, this is not the same as enlisting in the military (which can also be a great option). There are, of course, many paths that can be taken after high…

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Why We Stopped the Constant Talk About ‘College and Future’

Last fall, our son’s senior class parents gathered (somewhat tenderly) for the first time for a senior class parent meeting. There were friendly “hellos” and murmurs of “I can’t believe we’re already senior-class parents.” I left that school meeting with life-changing parenting advice and not a moment too soon. Our beloved campus ministry director humbly…

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A College Drop-Off Odyssey: 1,100 Miles With My Ex

If you’d told me when I was getting divorced that someday I’d be sitting in a car with my ex-husband, just the two of us, mostly listening to a commercial radio station play classic rock for eight hours straight, I would have said you were insane. And yet here I was, driving home in a…

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To My College Freshman…I Wonder If You Know

As we got you settled on campus, my mind raced, ticking through the mental list of what you need to know to survive and thrive as you enter adulthood. You’ve been under my watch for 18+ years, but suddenly everything seemed urgent. What don’t you know? What situations have I not prepared you for? What…

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I’m Almost Fifty, Single, and I’ve Never Been Happier

I recently celebrated my birthday with my three grown children. As we sat eating sushi and laughing, it hit me again that I have everything I could possibly want: a family, my health, a job I love, and devoted friends. Nothing is missing from my life.  Not. One. Single. Thing. I’ve been divorced for almost…

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5 Back-to-School Parenting Strategies for Empowering Adolescents

At the first middle school parent-teacher conference my husband and I attended, our son’s teacher commented, “In middle school, we encourage parents to allow space for students to solve their own problems.” She was kindly telling us that at this point in our son’s development, our job was to get out of the way and…

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How to Activate Your Teen’s Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times

This is an interview between Lisa Heffernan and Phyllis Fagell about her new book, Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times. LH: One of the biggest heart breaks for parents and their teens is when they have been dumped by friends or excluded from a friend group they were once part of. The…

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Senior Year Soccer: Playing a High School Sport for the Love of It

“This can be an edge when applying to college,” I said to my daughter after her club coach remarked that if she gave playing one hundred percent, attended ID camps, contacted college coaches, and performed well at showcases, some D3 schools might be potential fits. I reasoned that the possibility of being a college athlete…

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‘Erasing the Finish Line: The New Blueprint for Success Beyond Grades and College Admission’

Sometime between when our generation applied to college and now, the admissions process has taken on a Hunger Games-like milieu. Parents began to believe that superior grades, high test scores, and certain college acceptances were the only keys to their children’s future success. Although well-meaning, many of us overscheduled our kids, pressured them to secure excellent…

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