Tenacity and resilience, thy name is woman.

I’m in awe of the Jewish woman.

I go swimming three times a week in our local community pool. The pool is usually crowded with women of all ages and walks of life. Many come for the exercise, many simply for the social scene. There are the regulars, the one-timers, the old and the young.

And I know as I greet and smile at those I recognize and the strangers, that this small slice of humanity represents a segment of a greater whole — Jewish women throughout the world who are both similar and different yet share a common strength.

I know, in viewing the crowd on any given morning, that there is no woman here who has  not experienced or is going through a life challenge that is excruciating, harrowing, and seems a mission impossible.

Yet despite this, the atmosphere in the pool is always light, always friendly, with the feminine sharing of recipes and laundry tales, babysitting woes, and helpful sales.

I’m in awe of how we women get up every morning, facing days that often will tax us emotionally, physically, spiritually — days that will shake us to the core of our stability. Yet we manage to rise, to face it. We smile and schmooze; we maintain equilibrium despite the undercurrents swamping our steps.

Tenacity and resilience, thy name is woman.