I come from a very large family with so many relatives there are still some I haven’t met. I grew up spending a lot of time with my extended family. Being the social creature that I am, I enjoyed it… except for one childhood experience!
As a child, Sunday was visit Bubbi (Grandma) and Zaydee (Grandpa) day. I loved the smells of Jewish food cooking in Bubbi’s big pot, hearing my Father speak in Yiddish (language of the old country) and everything else about those visits.
One night when I was about five, I asked my parents if I could sleep at Bubbi and Zaydee’s house. My Mother was a little hesitant because I had never been away from her, even for a night. I promised her that I would be fine and they could come and pick me up the next morning.
I had a lot of fun with my Grandparents, enjoying all the attention of being the only child. I gobbled up the chicken soup my Bubbi prepared for me and then sat between Bubbi and Zaydee on the couch while we watched a show or two on their black and white television.
When Bubbi said it was bedtime, I put on my footsie pajamas and climbed into my Grandparent’s big bed. I fell asleep very quickly after my exciting day.
Hours later, I woke up and looked around me. On one side of me, I saw a body wrapped in a blanket and on the other side I saw another body. And then to my horror, I saw on the nightstand (under the night light) 2 glasses filled with water with a full set of teeth in each one of them. I started screaming on top of my lungs! “Mommy, I need you Mommy!”
My Grandparents jumped out of bed, but to this scared little girl, they didn’t look like MY Bubbi and Zaydee. Their mouths were all wrinkled and weird looking and their hair was wild. They looked like strange creatures from another planet!
After several failed attempts to calm me down, my Father was called. When he arrived, he didn’t look very happy to have to travel across town at 4 A.M. in the morning to take me home.
Fifty-four years later, I can remember every detail of that night and still get goosebumps if I see teeth in a glass!
