My Sweet Girl,

When you were just a baby, getting you to sleep was sometimes a challenge. I remember those nights so clearly. I would rock you and sing to you, but your bright little eyes just didn’t want to close.

One evening, I was watching an old movie—one of my favorites—with Bing Crosby. The moment he began to sing, you perked up, those curious eyes wide with wonder. I couldn’t believe how captivated you were by his voice. It was like magic. You loved his voice from the very first note. That’s when we realized that Bing Crosby had a special way of calming you.

Your mom was the one who started using Bing Crosby’s voice to help you settle down at bedtime, and that’s how we found your special lullaby—“Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral, That’s an Irish Lullaby.” It became your song, the one that wrapped you up in love and helped you find peace at the end of each day.

Most nights, it was Papa who put you to bed. Even with his untrained voice that didn’t always carry a tune, he would sing to you with all the love in his heart. And you didn’t seem to mind one bit. Even on the last night you were here with us, as the three of us lay in your room on the blue bed, after reading books, Papa and Nana sang to you:

“Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Hush, now don’t you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
That’s an Irish lullaby.”

There was something so special about those moments, lying together on the blue bed, surrounded by love and the gentle melody of your lullaby. I can still hear your soft breathing as you drifted off to sleep, safe and cherished.

Now, without you here, I find myself thinking of the second verse we never sang, the one that captures exactly how we feel:

“Oft, in dreams, I wander
To that cot again,
I feel her arms a huggin’ me
As when she held me then.
And I hear her voice a hummin’
To me as in the day of yore,
When she used to rock me fast asleep
Outside the cabin door.”

I wander to those nights in my dreams, feeling your little arms around me, hearing your laughter, remembering your sweet voice calling me “Nana.” I miss you more than words can say. I miss your hugs and your smiles. But no matter the distance, my love is always with you, wrapped around you like that lullaby.

Sleep tight, my love. Until the day we can sing together again.

Forever your Nana