From Dadomatic: If You Can Read This… Be Thankful!

If you awaken to a house full of noisy kids… be thankful.
If you are tired because you spent half the night feeding and rocking an infant to sleep… be thankful.
If you are late for work because you walked your son or daughter to the bus stop and the bus never showed… be thankful.
If you are frustrated because you really don’t know how to do the math to help your kid with the homework… be thankful.
If you had to change your outfit twice in a day because of spittle and spills… be thankful.
If you worry about money because school costs so damn much… be thankful.
If you have no time for yourself (but make time for your kids)… be thankful.
If you can collapse a stroller easily with one hand… be thankful.
If you read more nursery rhymes than novels lately… be thankful.
If you know the smell of a baby’s head… be thankful.
If you cry because your child cries… be thankful.
If you worry your kid will get hurt every time they are not in your sight… be thankful.
If you have ever been grossed out by things you never dreamed could be pooped out of a tiny butt… be thankful.
If you angrily left work early to attend a parent-teacher conference… be thankful.
If you caught yourself cursing or acting badly in front of your kids… be thankful.
If you have ever lost your temper and yelled like a banshee, scaring your child and yourself… be thankful.
If you are uplifted simply by the smile of your son or daughter… be thankful.
If hearing “I love you Daddy” has turned an awful day into the best day ever… be thankful.
If there’s a little person in the world who wants to be just like you when they grow up… be thankful.
If you have been embarrassed in public by your child in the midst of a kicking, screaming irrational tantrum… be thankful.
If you know the joy of watching your kid do anything for the very first time… be thankful.
If you have spent an entire weekend sweating with frustration while assembling a swing set… be thankful.
If you have ever canceled something you were really looking forward to because your little one was sick… be thankful.
If you ache with love for your child in ways that words simply cannot do justice… be thankful.
If you have ever swapped a tooth under the pillow for some money… be thankful.
If you have ever sat, bored out of your mind, through tedious school productions… be thankful.
If you have ever braced yourself in the passenger seat as your teenager gets behind the wheel… be thankful.
If you tell your kid “yes you can!” even when you are not so sure… be thankful.
If you want more for your kids than you ever dreamed of for yourself… be thankful.
If you know how to change a diaper… be thankful.
If “crib” means more to you than a celebrity’s house… be thankful.
If you find yourself bragging shamelessly about your child’s accomplishment… be thankful.

If you are a parent… be thankful.

It is so easy to forget how truly fortunate we are, and how so many of the things that really matter, we already have.

If you can read this… be thankful.

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 22, Ethan, 20 and Olivia, 19).  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.

Photo Credit: © 2Dot – Fotolia.com

Related Post: Ten Reasons To Be Thankful For Your Kids At Thanksgiving

via dadomatic.com

My Thanksgiving Post from www.dadomatic.com... I am thankful for you!

Posted via email 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!

A Golden Couple

Fifty years ago, on June 8, 1958, Evelyn Rapaport and David Sass got hitched! If they hadn't, you wouldn't be here reading these words... and I wouldn't be here at all! I am glad to say they absolutely made the right decision. My parents had a wonderful party in NYC last weekend to celebrate and I am proud to share with you the poem I wrote and read to them:

June 8, 1958 - June 8, 2008

A long, long, LONG, time ago, in 1958...
Two kids got married.. and it turned out to be great.

Far above Cayuga's Waters, is where Evelyn and David met...
And here, 50 years later, they haven't killed each other... yet!

She was at Cornell... He, a student at IC...
They graduated, got married...and the result: Diane and Me...

Our family was small, and nobody was ever far...
In fact, all the NY Sass's could fit in one big car.

There was Oma and Opa, and Grandma and Papa,
(And the tough one was Oma) nobody could stop her...

Grandma, of course, was a sweet Southern Belle...
Her charm and her poise upon Evelyn fell...

Opa was a hard worker, he never retired,
And so my father and I are similarly inspired.

Papa was always in shape, muscles like Chuck Norris...
Wherever he went, everyone loved Morris.

My childhood was great, my Mom's a good cook,
If you don't believe me, just take a good look.

Diane and I had a great childhood, there is nothing to disparage,
And that is a reflection on mom and dad's wonderful marriage!

They are a perfect fit, like ying and yang,
(and after 50 years, I hope there's still an occasional bang!)

So far this poem has been a bit silly and cushy,
But now I am going to get a little bit more mushy.

Because you can't last 50 years not growing apart,
Without tremendous love and deep respect filling both your hearts.

As parents, grandparents and spouses, you are second to none,
Even though I had no choice, I'm extremely proud to be your son.

We are here tonight because both of you are so great,
And its with a great deal of love that we help you celebrate.

So we salute you and thank you, the bride and groom,
For all the joy you've brought to everyone in this room.

Let's make a toast and raise our glass,
To the not so newlyweds, Evelyn and David Sass!

I love you Mom and Dad!