Happy Birthday, Joyce!

It's the 80th birthday of my wonderful Mom, Joyce Kennedy, an event so noteworthy that I must finally return to elenabella. (It has been a tough February, with computer complications and other unanticipated demands affecting the production of this bio-logue blog.) But the month is almost at an end, bringing at last a most magical day, a birthday rhyme-in-time: Hey, Mama! Happy Birthday!

When I have a chance, I will scan some photos of my mother over the years. For now, here is a glimpse of her at a Twins game. Born in a small town in North Dakota, her life has unfolded now for 8 full decades, something I find almost impossible to believe – until I recall Mom's steady energy, engagement, and emotional and intellectual brilliance. She loves life and lives it well.

Poet, teacher, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, devoted partner to Wally, my mother is a wordsmith and keen participant in the world. She inspires many people with her kindness, wit, intelligence, and clear, easy determination. She was named well, finding and creating Joy in a most natural, unaffected way, nearly every day. Thank you for life, Mom, and Happy Birthday!