shannon miles

A Powerful Woman

"Graw-Graw" is the name I called my grandmother. Clair as she was called by everyone else was the strongest woman I have ever met and the person that I have loved more than any other human on this planet. My grandmother was born in 1918 in Germany and never complained about anything. She arrived in the United States when she was just 4 years old through Ellis Island. My family did not speak any English as many did not when arriving to our country. They settled into New York City and my grandmother could tell stories about taking the subway seem like the train to Hogwart's. "Graw-Graw" always had a story to tell about her days in New York and her wild 20's with my grandfather which always made me smile. A psychiatrist once asked me to close my eyes and think of a person and place that I always felt safe. The only answer was my grandmother and my grandparents home. Have you ever had a place where as soon as you see it and smell the aroma when you enter it calms you? This was that place.