I have come to think that this is wrong.

My 12-year old daughter, Lauren, came home from school yesterday, proudly waving her grade book. She had been awarded A-1 in most subjects - a great achievement!

Then she sadly pointed out that her perfect score was marred by a B-1 in French and a C-1 in physical education.

I asked her what scores meant. She said that letter denotes achievement and number, effort.

That was when it struck me that grades were misleading. Surely most important score is effort? Yet it is shown last.

I gave her a big hug and told her that in my book, she had a perfect score. It didn't matter that her achievement grade in French was a 'B' - '1' showed that she had tried her hardest. That is something to make any parent proud.

As if seeing my predicament, driver in overtake lane quickly moved to fast lane, thus freeing up space I needed to avoid hitting back of truck. As he drove past me we looked at each other at precisely same moment and both raised our hands to say ‘Thank You’.

I was really touched by this spontaneous ‘meeting’ of our two spirits. For that split second we were in complete harmony with each other. What he had done for me (without usual issues of dominance on road) had most probably helped me avoid a serious accident.

It really brought home to me what a powerful force ‘power of appreciation’ is.

How differently we react when someone answers our angry comment with a kind word. What a difference it makes when someone takes time to listen when we need to talk.