Why
do I play BVB? Why do I do all my work with the Alzheimer’s Association? I do
it for my Grammy Pie as I used to call her.
My
Grammy otherwise known as Elaine Goldstein moved to Florida from New York when
I was born. I was Elaine’s only granddaughter and she didn’t want to miss a
thing! When I was younger I remember riding the bus with her to the pool in
Century Village (since this is a NY league, I bet there are many people that
know about Century Village in Boca Raton, FL!!!). I would sleep over on the
weekends and we would always watch TGIF, eat the same chicken (the one
all Jewish mothers make) with tri colored pasta, and eat ice cream. My
grandmother wasn’t your typical grandmother. I always remember her slipping me
$10 and saying, “I bet your other grandmother doesn’t give you that” or when we
were playing, “your other grandmother doesn’t play with you like me.” Elaine
always wanted to know that she was my favorite…but that wasn’t hard because she
was.
As
I got older and what I thought was “cooler,” my sleepovers with Grammy became
less frequent. I was becoming a teenager. I wanted to hang out with my friends,
go to the mall, go to the movies, but not sleep over Grammy’s. As time went on
we started noticing some slight changes in Grammy Pie. I wasn’t always a little
angel so there were times I would do something that made her mad and she would
say, “I’ll kick your grass” (I said she wasn’t your typical grandma but she was
mine and I loved her). There was another time I can remember that instead of
saying she was flying into LaGuardia she said, “I am flying into La De Da
Airport.” I am embarrassed to say, both of these examples I found funny at the
time. I had no idea I was losing my Grammy Pie to the worst disease I could
ever imagine.
As
the slips of the tongue got worse and the forgetfulness was more prevalent we
moved my Grammy back to NY to live in a home. My aunts and uncles all lived in
Queens so it made more sense to be where more people could visit her. The day
we left her in that home is a day I still can’t talk about. It was the hardest
thing to watch her scream and yell that she didn’t belong there and ultimately
there was nothing we could do but leave. As time went by my grandmother got
worse and was getting the care she needed. There were many times during those
years she forgot who her own children were but she never forgot me. In the end,
even when she couldn’t speak her eyes would still light up when I came into the
room.
So
why do I play BVB? I play for all the time I took for granted with my Grammy. I
play to raise awareness of this horrible disease. And most of all I play to
raise money, in hopes a cure is right around the corner. I know my grandmother
is up there yelling, GO TEAM BLONDE!!!.”
Love you Grammy Pie….Love Always and
Forever your Lindzer Tart
