Neva's Fifth Birthday

Sandwiched between Nora and Neva Halverson, I turned the page of Richard Scarry's Animal Nursery Tales to discover a favorite childhood story, "Teeny-Tiny Woman." As I continued to read, my mother's voice echoed in my head, and I revisited the long-ago scene of my sister, Lynette, and I, snuggled on either side of Mother, her voice rising to the crescendo climax, "TAKE IT!"
And it was magical.