When school is in session, I generally make a habit of walking [Liam->] and [Abigail->] to school right before heading off to work. This morning, as we rounded the corner into Liam’s hallway, he pulled an index card, carefully folded in half, from his pocket.

“Here you go, Dad!”

“What is it, buddy?”

“It’s for you,” he said, obviously pleased with the planning and execution that had allowed him to present this unexpected boon to me as we parted.

I carefully unfolded the index card to reveal the text of his farewell: “BI DAD”

While I thanked him profusely for his thoughtfulness, I don’t think I’ll be displaying this one proudly above my desk at work.