Go Moms!

If you’re a tennis fan like me, you were probably heartened by the tremendous achievment of Belgian Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open this week.  Clijsters, a former number-one ranked player, retired at her peak to become a mother, then came back this summer after more than two years of inactivity.  The U.S. Open was only her third tournament since her return, and her win was the first Grand Slam victory by a mother since 1981, when Evonne Goolagong Cawley came out of retirement much the same way to win Wimbledon.  Cawley’s joyous response to her successor:  “Go moms!”

Closer to home, another mother is making a comeback:  mine.  Grace Duggleby recently celebrated her 80th birthday, and her wish for the past year has been to take a celebratory trip with my dad, sister and me, and our spouses.  Mom’s wanderlust rivals, well, mine.  It has carried her all over the world, but health issues grounded her since 2001.  Good news: she’s fought back, and we’re leaving tomorrow on a New England/Canadian cruise.  We’re all thrilled, and I’m proud that my mother, in her own way, has shown the same irrepressible determination that Clijsters did with a tennis racquet.  Go Moms!