Thank you, girl :)

Lately, Neva is my biggest fan. Which is nice, because I can really use the love right now. She often impulsively hugs me, rough and tough as always, and says to me, “You’re just the best girl in the world.”

Also: “I just love you the best.”

She’s full of strong affections:

“This is the best day EVER!”

“I LOVE Auntie Erin. She’s SO beautiful.”

(Hearing me absentmindedly humming “O Christmas Tree”): “I LOVE that song.”

When she was a baby, I wrote her a song. Between then and now, I nearly forgot it, but this summer, I scraped it out of my memory (to her utter delight) and now sing it to her every night. “Can you sing ‘Neva-Mae-where-we-say-goodbye’?” And when I’m finished, every time, she sighs. “I LOVE that song.”

Hello, little Neva Mae

Oh I hope you had a wonderful day

And I hope you never feel alone

Mama’s home with you, Neva Mae

Neva Mae, Neva Mae

Oh, what a day

When I saw you for the very first time

Oh, you cried, and you cried, 

But then peacefully lay

In my arms

My little Neva Mae

Hello, you spunky little girl

Oh, I know you’re gonna light up the world

But even sunny girls like you encounter rain

And when there’s pain, 

I’ll be there, Neva Mae

Neva Mae, Neva Mae

Oh, what a day

When your heart breaks for the very first time-

Oh you’ll cry- we’ll both cry-

But then Mama’s gonna say,

“You are strong and you are perfect,

Neva Mae”

Hello, you dear and mighty girl

Why don’t you go and take on the world?

But no matter how far away you roam,

You have a home with me,

Neva Mae

Neva Mae, Neva Mae

Oh, what a day

When we say goodbye for the very first time

Oh, I’ll cry and I’ll cry,

But you’ll smile and you’ll say,

“I’ll always be your Neva Mae”

Yes, you’ll always be my Neva Mae