Word Power

My little granddaughter, Sidney, is now five years old. Her world has expanded from preschool and the back yard mini-trampoline to kindergarten and Saturday soccer, now an enthusiastic “Purple Dolphin Tails” team player.

And to email.

I got my first message from Sidney’s own gmail address with the subject line, “hi gramsey.” Though probably typed in by her mother, the words stirred an immediate inner awww. Below, in the message box, Sidney had written:

[?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?]

Have you ever seen a message so profound? Doesn’t it show she has a curious mind? And perseverance? So many question marks! That’s a lot of work.

When the second email came yesterday, the message was a simple “gramsey.” Even though my daughter said Sidney tired after so much precise typing and left to play other games, it was enough. Rather like a girl in love who delights to hear her name on the lips of her beloved, reading mine typed by those tiny fingers brought bliss.

Ah! The power of the written word. And of the writer.