Sean Dengler

For those who do not know, my grandma, Mildred Dengler, passed away on September 18, two weeks short of her 99th birthday. An incredible age to make it to for an incredible woman. I loved her a lot, and I was blessed to have her in my life for this long. Fortunately, I was double blessed as my grandpa, Vernon Dengler, lived to be ninety-five.

My other grandparents who died when I was younger also lived within ten miles of where I grew up. This is not standard for most people to have their grandparents so close. It is hard to stay connected with grandparents when they live hours or states away, but I was lucky enough to have them near me. Their houses were the only place on the blue marble where I only have happy memories. I cannot think of one tough time at my grandparents’ houses.

Whenever I went over to my Grandma and Grandpa Dengler’s, they always cared and made me feel good by being there. They always did their best to make my experience worth it, and they let me get away with kid stuff. We had a lot of family gatherings at their home, so it was always the time to see everyone and make even more great memories. Unfortunately, my Grandma and Grandpa Pohlman passed when I was younger. While I also have all good memories with them, they are a little fainter.

I was blessed to have my grandparents come to my high school and college graduations and everything else between and after. When I went home, it meant not only seeing my parents but my grandparents. They always looked forward to hearing about my recent experiences. Some only see their grandparents only during the holidays, but I was lucky enough to see them almost every day growing up. After I left the house, I still would see them a couple of times a month in person.

Over this time, technology has caught up with the prevalence of video chatting. This makes it easier to maintain the connection. I will never forget the feeling of having both sets of grandparents close by, and I will always appreciate my time with them. While I do not know if or when I will have my own children and it will be harder as the grandparents do not live as close as mine did, I will try my hardest to involve the grandparents as I know how much their impact influenced me.

As for those not blessed with a wonderful set of grandparents or grandparents who left this world too soon, I hope you find good mentors including yourself to have your children bond with. When there is a strong community around a child, it means a lot. It helps show them that as much as the world can be a tough place, people exist in this world who will always have their back to help show them love and care. This is what my grandparents did for me, and I hope others also get to experience those feelings.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.