Bubba

When your niece literally lives all the way across the country, and you don't get to see her because the distance is so great, you should invite her to travel literally all the way across the country for a lengthy summer visit.  

Trust me, it will be great.

Sure, she and Kitty will have some intense arguments.  Sure, she and Kitty will fight over the remote control.  And the cat.  Sure, there will be homesickness tears.  

But - she and Kitty will chatter incessantly about tween-girl things.  And she and Kitty will laugh and sing together.  And she and Kitty will sleep in the same bed.  And she and Kitty will be best buds because they both want a sister close to their own age.  

Trust me, it will be great.

Bubba was a delight to have around.  She is pleasant, obeys quickly, has east-coast attitude, and filled our space with happiness.  And she loves the song, "deja vu" by Olivia Rodrigo.  Trust me.  We listened to it enough times to make my brain melt.

We did fun summertime things with Bubba around.  We even took her on our annual summertime trip to Idaho, where she celebrated her 10th birthday surrounded by cousins and grandparents.  It was wonderful.  

And then her mother wanted Bubba to come home.

What a chump.