Tonight my nine-year-old sister said to me, “You’re awesome, you know that?”

I was about to play dodgeball with her and our younger brother in the basement, which she had been wanting to do all evening. I suppose that’s what triggered the comment, but whatever the motivation, I have to say, it warmed me up inside.

Nothing can replace those moments. The moments you realize you mean something to someone else. Especially to a kid.

Those moments are nice with adults, too, but adults are more complicated. So many expectations and assumptions, complex thoughts and theories, cautious communication, misunderstanding, subtext.

Children are simple. They ask when they’re not sure. They say what they mean. Show it, even without intending to.

My little sister may not measure worth the same way most people do––by resume, rap sheet, or Instagram account––but that’s exactly why her words meant so much. They were based purely on our relationship. She was expressing that our relationship was important, that she liked me.

What could be better than that?