"My seventeen year old daughter is the only one in our neighborhood who knows how to put gas in her car," said my dental hygienist, Sandy.

She had me laid back in a dental chair and was making my teeth as clean and white as she could get them. I stared up at her expressive dark-brown eyes and her dark brown hair that here and there showed a streak of silver gray. But as usual when I'm sitting in a dental chair, I couldn't say more than "Uh-huh" which in this case meant "How strange!"

"None of the other girls knows how," Sandy continued, "because their dads take their cars to the gas station every Monday morning before school, fill them up, and drop them off at home before leaving for work."

I managed to squeak out another "Uh-huh" while trying to curb my swallow reflex until Sandy could vacuum out my mouth. This time, I meant, "I'm sure the dads are doing it because they love their daughters. But what will happen when the dads aren't around?"

Sandy, in the appropriate style for a dental hygienist who is used to carrying on one-way conversations, continued her line of thought. "My oldest daughter called the other day. She said, 'Mom, my microwave is broken!' She was frantic. I didn't think it was a big deal but I said, 'That's too bad!' She said, 'But Mom, I don't know how to use the stove in my apartment!'"

I continued to listen while my teeth got cleaner. By the time we were through, I learned about other teenagers who didn't know how to sew on a button, knit or crochet, change a flat tire, or plant flowers in a garden.

"With both parents working, who has time to show the kids how to do all these things?" Sandy asked.

"Well," I thought to myself, "perhaps that's why our grandkids have grandparents."

My own grandchildren are coming to our home for Christmas. My wife, Helena, has already bought knitting needles and yarn for under the tree. On the phone, she's talked with our oldest granddaughter about learning to knit over the holidays. Now both she and our daughter, whom we never got around to teaching when she was growing up, are anxious to learn.

Thanks to Sandy, we're going to make sure our grandkids don't grow up without knowing how to fill the car with gas, plant a flower or knit a scarf. And best of all, we're going to have fun together doing it.