persistence pays

when i went to summer camp as a young girl one of the "secret" mottoes of my tribe (go shawnees!) was DGU. it stands for "don't give up" and apparently those three letters, and what they stand for, burned themselves deep into the recesses of my brain. i am proud to say that i rarely give up on anything. i work hard at things that are important to me and can honestly say that no matter how many times you kick me i will eventually get back up.

that said...last week i got an email from the woman who organizes all the playgroups for the newcomer's club suggesting the addition of three new women to my group. my playgroup never really took off (we all remember what happened when i hosted) and the thought of adding anyone new was comical and tiring. i have taken a few walks with the one other woman who actually wanted the playgroup to work as much as i did. she wasn't able to make it to the session i hosted and i knew that before hand. i was the only person to show up to the session she hosted and we have since had a laugh over the whole debacle. so, as you might imagine, adding three more women seemed not only futile but down right ridiculous. but, hey, if at first you don't succeed...try, try again...DGU...that whole thing.

i contacted all three women and offered to host a group today around 10:00. when 10:15 rolled around i looked at wil and said, "good lord. not again." right when i said it a car pulled up. and then another. and another. and another. that's right....THEY ALL CAME. not only that, they were all fun, all normal, none obnoxious, all had cute kids, all eager to make the group work. i spent $6 on a dozen mini-bagels and brewed a pot of coffee. there were no fresh flowers (although someone did bring me some!) and i didn't get up at 6:30 to clean the house. the conversation was easy and the kids played very well together even though they range in ages from 1 year to 21 months. they can all walk, even the 1 year old (overachiever!) and they gabbed, played with wil's toys and chomped on bagels as if they'd been doing it for years.

as i watched the kids playing and the women visiting i felt so happy that i'd decided to throw myself out there again. maybe we'll be friends for years. maybe we won't. but i'd never know unless i tried and, this time, it payed off.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
- Calvin Coolidge