My Butterflies

When I was in 7th grade I learned a song in music class called "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlyle. My roommate/best friend (I went to boarding school) Alana and I would sing this song together in the showers almost daily. I loved it and how it went through a girl's life from childhood to her wedding day.

Fast forward years later after my own wedding day and having a daughter of my own and I would sing this song to Natalie at night to soothe her. (The song is from the viewpoint of a father, but I always changed the word dad/daddy in the song to "our" or I would just leave it out.) When she got older she would request that I sing it to her, sometimes singing along with me. Eventually I stopped singing it so often to her and now I can't tell you the last time I did.

One day before I was pregnant but not too long ago she said to me out of the blue, "I want you to call me butterfly," and so I started to. She would smile and get giddy when I first began to call her that and told me how much she liked the nickname.

When we were looking for a name for baby sister I suggested Vanessa. I looked up the meaning and it was butterfly. At one point I told Natalie the name and it's meaning and said something along the lines of, "We're going to have another butterfly in the family," and she said, "We're not naming the baby Vanessa." Eventually it became her who was more set on the name Vanessa than I was.

I think the names are sweet and perfect together, just like I hope my two girls will be.

Ad we placed in the school yearbook for Natalie.