A Homemade Birthday Card from a Six-Year-Old

My niece, who is six, made me a birthday card. It's a folded piece of orange construction paper, and it's the best card I've ever received.

The front says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTY" with a backwards Y. There's a drawing of me with enormous hands, a purple dress and a sun wearing sunglasses.

Inside, in her careful printing: "Dear Aunty. You are 41. That is a lot. I love you because you are funny and you have a dog and you let me eat ice cream. Love, Maisie."

I've received expensive gifts in my life, and I've forgotten most of them. I will never forget that I am 41, that it is a lot, and that I am loved for my dog and my ice cream policy.