Occasions such as Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day seem to bring out Hallmark moments in children. School backpacks burst with bent cards that beg to be hung on our fridges.

Katie knows that.

When her daughter was in Grade 1, she made a beautiful Valentine’s Day card for her mom.

In her daughter’s careful printing were these words:

My mom is

pretty

nice

beauiful

Hint: to pronounce “beauiful” without the “t”, pretend you’re Jamie Oliver.

Katie, as proud parents are wont to do, hung the declaration on the bulletin board in her office.

I can imagine her looking up at it and smiling.

A few days pass.

She’s again at her desk.

She looks up at the note again.

And Katie sees this:

Yes, her daughter had edited the card.

Not. A six-year-old demonstrates the power of a single word.

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