Nevertheless

My friend Leslie sent me a wonderful t-shirt. The words on the front say: “Nevertheless, she persisted.”

What a lot of truth is expressed in those three words.

Those words remind me of my grandmother who kept the family farm going in West Texas after her husband died. When the Depression made everything more difficult, she let the hired hand go. She and my father had to do all of the farm work. Nevertheless, she persisted.

Those words remind me of my mother, the first in her family to go to college. She had a scholarship. She lived with her aunt in Denton, Texas, so that she could attend North Texas State Teacher’s College. And, her two married sisters gave her a little money for food and textbooks. It wasn’t easy. Nevertheless, she persisted.

Those words remind me of my daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who started a nonprofit, The Art and Science of Animal Training, in 2015. Last month, the nonprofit held its second annual conference. Mary Elizabeth reports that 150 people—from 28 states and eight foreign countries–paid to attend. Organizing the conference required lots of hours and lots of work. Nevertheless, she persisted.

No matter what happens, nevertheless, we persist. We are strong women—Resolute Women.
–Joy