AQ'S Corner

Ah, Valentine’s Day in third grade—the time-honored tradition of handing out cards, eating way too much candy, and accidentally discovering which classmate has a crush on you. This year, my daughter had the classic assignment: bring Valentine’s cards for all 17 of her classmates.

I asked the all-important question: Do you want to buy cards or make them? Now, considering there were seventeen kids on this list, I expected her to choose the store-bought route. 

But nope.

She wanted to make them. By hand. For every single classmate.

Armed with the official list of names from ClassDojo, she set to work on Saturday—right after dance class. She even set an alarm to remind herself to start. 

After about seven cards, she came to show me her masterpieces. And let me tell you—these weren’t just cards. These were mini works of art, each one custom-designed for the recipient.

One card had a dog with a heart. She explained that her friend’s dog had passed away, and she wanted him to know that his dog would always be with him. 

Another card had a cross because her friend loves Jesus.

Then there was the Roblox card—no explanation needed. We’d just been to this kid’s birthday party, where she instructed me to buy a Roblox gift card for him.

But the card that really got me? Bart Simpson.

Yes, my daughter has a classmate who’s a Bart Simpson fan, and I, for one, was living for this unexpected ‘90s throwback. It was nostalgic.

As I looked at all these cards, I realized something incredible—my daughter knew at least two or three personal details about every single one of her 17 classmates. That’s next-level observation skills! I told her, “Always be a good listener and observer. That will make her both a great human and successful businesswoman.”

I wanted to share all the cards, but since they had kids’ names on them, I kept them private. Except for one.

Because let’s be real—how could I not take a screenshot of Bart Simpson?