Do Your Laundry or You'll Die Alone...

College Admission went to a book party last night thrown by Grown and Flown's Lisa Endlich Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington in honor of Becky Blades, writer, artist and author of Do Your Laundry or You'll Die Alone: Advice Your Mom Would Give You if She Thought You Were Listening. Blades penned 269 pieces of advice for her two daughters, Taylor Kay and Tess -- primarily as a way of working through her separation anxiety as the eldest headed off to college. (Excellent idea, by the way.)

Her words of wisdom range from the practical: "Cooked food lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. That's all. After that, you will have to throw it out. Your Mother will not be doing this anymore."

To the felicitous: "Own a tutu and a boa. Because you just never know."

And the things you cannot say too many times: "Don't text while you're driving."

On to the horrifying but you have to say it: "Keep your knees together when you're sitting on stage."

She covers the new etiquette: "Put your napkin in your lap. And don't blow your nose with it. And don't hide your phone there. No one is falling for it."

And the old: "Use titles of respect."

She reminds us of the tried and true: "DON'T MAKE EXCUSES."

And you will totally identify with her: "A year before she graduated high school, when it hit me that my first-born daughter would soon be leaving home for college, I became overwhelmed by a frantic urgency. She wasn't ready... In oen of my Hollywood-lit nightmares, I saw her standing in the middle of a busy street, cars speeding toward her, her high-heel caught in a grate, trying desperately to save the shoe. Did I forget that lesson? 'Leave the shoe, honey! Save yourself!'" OMG, I have had this feeling so many times! We never stop parenting, right?

Blades' wonderful book is a perfect graduation gift. Grown and Flown called it a "little manual for life." I bought one for myself and one for my 23-year-old! It's available April 1st on Amazon. Head over here and get your graduation shopping done or just fill out your parenting bookshelf! You can visit Becky Blades at her website, laundryordie.com.