The Pane Truth: What Happened To Looking Out The Window? - Dad-O-Matic

via dadomatic.com

I have been traveling a lot lately, and when I travel, I often find myself looking out of windows... in cars, buses, taxi's, airplanes... and invariably it causes my mind to wander, much in the way it did when I was a child, gazing out of windows at every opportunity. On a recent whirlwind trip to Austin and Las Vegas, I was inspired to write the post below as my weekly contribution to www.dadomatic.com. I thought you might enjoy it here too, and hope you don't forget to look out the window once in a while too... 

I miss windows. No, I am not an Apple convert waxing poetic about my old computer operating system. I actually miss real windows… the glass kind. The kind we used to gaze through and let our minds wander in the days before portable electronics became so pervasive. I miss looking out the window, and I wish my kids would spend more time looking out of windows themselves.

Did You See What I Saw?

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time staring out of windows, watching the world go by, and dreaming about what it all meant. Moving windows were the best. I actually looked forward to long car, bus or train rides and insisted on a window seat so I could stare out of it at the passing scenery. I’d look at homes and imagine what it would be like to live THERE. I’d see glimpses of people going about their business and try to expand upon the snapshot moment and imagine who they were and what they were like, and what would they be like after my car/bus/train finished peeking through their world.

Digital Blinds

Now, when I see passing cars, buses, trains, even planes, instead of looking out the windows kids and adults alike are looking at the phone, computer or game system in their hands and laps, or they are staring at the embedded screen in the digitally enhanced headrest on the seat in front of them. In many cases they are wearing headsets, tuned out to what is outside. Our portable devices have created digital blinds on our windows, blinding us to the wonders outside.

The Glass Is Greener On The Other Side…

I am as guilty of gadget gazing as anyone, and I have not done enough to discourage my kids from too often dipping into the digital dark-side. I need to remind them (and myself) that sometimes it is best to leave technology behind and just look out the window and let your mind wander.

What do you think? Do you and your kids still spend time looking out the window?

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18). He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast. You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab and you can listen to Jeff on the Cast of Dads podcast.


Posted via web from Kiss My SASS!

Matriarchs, Patriarchs, And The Grandest Parents Of All...

(NOTE: This post was written for Dad-O-Matic and will also appear there)

From everything I have seen and heard, being a grandparent is a special thrill. I am not there yet myself, but as my own kids grow into adulthood I know that eventually "Grandparent" will be another line item on my life resume. While I cannot address what it is to be a Grandparent, I can address what it is to have Grandparents and how much fun it has been to provide the necessary offspring to enable my own parents to become Grandparents. By the way, if you haven't heard, today is National Grandparents Day!

Grandma and Papa, Opa and Oma

I always enjoy hearing the interesting names people have for their Grandparents. There seems to be many more permutations of the names and nicknames for our parent's parents than there are for good old "Mom and Dad." In my case I had the more traditional "Grandma and Papa" on my mother's side, and, thanks to their very prevalent German culture, "Oma and Opa" on my Father's side. In the case of my own kids, they simply have used "Grandma and Grandpa Sass" vs. "Grandma and Grandpa Genco" to distinguish between their own Grandparents. What names do you and your kids use?

All In The Family...

I was very fortunate in that I grew up in Queens, NY in an apartment that was three blocks away from both sets of my Grandparents (one in each direction). As soon as I was old enough I could easily walk or ride my bike over for an after school visit, and Oma and Opa lived literally next door to my Junior High School and the primary neighborhood playground, providing an easy escape for a snack or to clean up a scraped knee. One of my true regrets of my own adventures in parenting is that my kids have not had the experience of growing up in such close proximity and with such constant interaction with their Grandparents.

Influence of the Ages...

Perhaps because of their physical closeness, my Grandparents were a tremendous influence on me, and while I of course have been shaped in many ways by my Mom and Dad, I can also very clearly see the impact of my grandparents in myself, and I fondly and proudly acknowledge the wisdom and examples they set for me throughout my childhood. While they have been gone for a long time now, I still think of them a lot, and I find myself referring to them often in the life stories that have become a regular part of my repetoire, sharing memories of my Grandparents and their lessons as often as I can, especially with my kids, who did not know them all, and were very young when they did.

Thanks For The Memories... And Then Some...

I could write many separate stories about each of my Grandparents (and perhaps sometime I will) as each was a true individual, and very special in their own way. Papa, the former soldier whose strong physical presence always made me think of Popeye... Opa, who was never in great health, yet worked hard and smart to rise within the ranks of a single employer over more than 40 years (unimaginable in today's world) and who, despite his seemingly quiet nature, was an ingenious prankster... Grandma, who lovingly never lost her aura of being a "Southern Belle" and a truly sweet person... Oma, who lost so much to the Holocaust and yet her strength and determination clearly positioned her as the Sass Family Matriarch... I loved them all very much, still do, and salute them here on National Grandparents Day.

Life Is Grand(parents)!

I hope you too will take a moment today to honor your Grandparents, and your kid's Grandparents, and yourself if you are a Grandparent. Family heritage is a one of our greatest treasures, and like many treasures we often leave it buried. I know I want to do more to explore my own, and share it with my kids, and remembering my Grandparents is a great start. In the next few days I am planning to visit with my parents and interview them about our family history on video as part of the Sony DigiDads Project. This is something I have often thought about doing but never got around to it, so I am grateful to Dad-O-Matic and Sony for the inspiration.

What does Grandparents Day mean to you?

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 17). He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast. You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Dad-O-Matic and Social Networking Rehab.

Photo Credit: © vospalej - Fotolia.com

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Dad-O-Matic Day!

It's Father's Day! If you have found your way here to Sassholes today I encourage you to take a moment and click over to www.dadomatic.com to read some great posts written by dads (and the occasional mom) for dads. For the past 40 weeks I have been a regular contributor to Dad-O-Matic, and I am very proud of the writings there, by myself and almost 80 other contributing dads. Dad-O-Matic was founded last year by uber blogger Chris Brogan, and is managed day to day by a great paisano, Doriano "Paisano" Carta. At Dad-O-Matic every day is Father's Day, but as today is the real thing it is the perfect day to visit and read some great posts from a cool collection of daddy bloggers!

Here is an excerpt from my "Giving And Receiving On Father's Day" post at Dad-O-Matic:

As a dad myself, Father’s Day is always a double whammy – I get to honor my own dad, and all he has meant to me, and I get to be honored by my own kids and take some special time with them to reflect on what it means to be a father. We learn so much, and are influenced so much by our parents, yet I don’t think we realize how truly and deeply entwined we are until we become parents ourselves. As a dad, especially as my kids have grown older, I see my father in myself in so many things I do. More surprisingly, I am not alone in this discovery and apparently my kids see it too. ”Dad, you are just like Grandpa” has lately been a fairly common comment from my kids to me. I consider it a compliment!

You can find all of my Dad-O-Matic posts here.

If you are celebrating with your kids or with your dad, have a wonderful Dad-O-Matic Day, er - Father's Day!

Dad-O-Matic: Where Every Day Is Father's Day

Hello, my name is Jeff and I'm a Dad (Daddict?)

I am the father of three (and master of none...) The greatest joy of my life has been to watch, participate, influence and, to the best of my ability, guide ZEO (my nickname for the clan - short for Zachary, Ethan & Olivia, in birth order) as they have grown from tiny bundles of cute, to teens and young adults. Today they are truly wonderful citizens that make me enormously proud on a daily basis. If everything else I do in life should fail, I can sleep well at night knowing I have done my part in bringing three great additions into our world.

With that in mind I am very pleased to have been invited to be a contributing writer for a terrific new blog created by Chris Brogan. As one of the original "Rock Stars" of the world of blogging and social media (and an extremely good person, a true "Mensch,") Chris has assembled an impressive squad of Geek Dads to share their views and experiences on fatherhood and parenting. I am honored to be among them and invite you (actually, I encourage you) to visit Dad-O-Matic and enjoy articles, reviews and opinions on a wide range of topics and from varying points of view, all with an important common thread: being a Dad.

I hope you will read my first contribution to Dad-O-Matic, The BUXX Stops Here!, as well as the other great posts from the rest of the Geek Dad Squad!

UPDATE: I will continue to add links to my Dad-O-Matic posts here:

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