My Grandmother And Aunts

My grandma got married in 1903, worked in a shirtwaist sewing factory, and was a photographer in her own right. My great-great-aunt was an 1898 graduate of nursing school, never married, broke her back 3 times, traveled with only her sisters to the Holy Land in the early 1930's, and saw the entire history of manned flight (Kitty Hawk to the Moon!). My father's sister ran a profitable dressmaking business which kept her family together when my uncle was hit by a truck and spent months in rehab during the 1960's.

These ladies taught me how to sew, by hand and machine, to try anything myself before asking for a man's help, to stick to my guns...and believe in myself. I sometimes waiver in the belief part but the other skills have kept a roof over my head in bad times, rescued me from not-so-great relationships, and kept me in school when most people my age would just give it up.

I am 55 now, and think of them every time I pick up a needle or a camera or decide to travel on my own. They were, and always will be an inspiration to keep on keeping on.