Verse 1 Holden still talks about that closet door, The one that opened to a world from before: Vintage cars and a garage with a ramp, Treasures you saved like a time-travel stamp. Dustin and Landon remember the table, How you could feed an army when the fridge looked unable With a spoonful of this and a scrap of that, Nothing ever wasted, not even the fat Off a turkey carcass; you picked it clean, Not a shred left hiding, not a bone to be seen. Verse 2 Augustana weekend, you sat in the dorm, Wearing that proud little smile, keeping me warm. Oatmeal-raisin cookies cooling on the rack, Packed in a tin so I’d have some to take back. Long talks at the kitchen table after Dad went to bed, Words that felt like home, things we never said Out loud to anyone else, just you and me, And I whispered one night, “I wish you were Mom to me.” Chorus You call me your daughter, no “step” in the way, Every time you say it, it still takes my breath away. I was barely grown when I held your hand through the pain, You remember the care, I just remember your name On my heart like a promise you never let fall— Kay, you loved me like yours from the very first call. Verse 3 Dad got a little jealous of our late-night talks, But you never chose sides, you just opened the clocks To more hours of laughter, more stories, more pie, More room in your heart than the South Dakota sky. You thank me for things I barely recall— The cake for your birthday, the days after surgery, Bringing you home, sitting close by your chair— You kept every kindness safe in your heart there. Chorus You call me your daughter, no “step” in the way, Every time you say it, it still takes my breath away. You turned leftover scraps into love on a plate, Turned a girl who felt borrowed into family, no wait. Kay, you loved me like yours, and you always will— Even when your hands are finally still. Bridge So here’s to the cookies, the turkey bones bare, To the cars and the garage and the late-night air Filled with secrets and oatmeal and cinnamon spice— You made me a daughter, and you never thought twice. Last Chorus (softer) You call me your daughter, and I always will be, Long after the coffee cools, long after we Say goodbye to the kitchen, the cards, and the pie. I’ll carry your “daughter” with me till I die. Thank you, my Kay… my beautiful mom-in-my-heart, You loved me whole right from the start. And I 'll always love you right back.
