Eight-year-old Jamie makes amends.

Let’s see: Naming the apology-worthy act (“I threw a ball in your face”)? Check. Noting the impact of said act (“I feel bad that I hurt you”)? Check. Expression of remorse (“I’m sorry”)? Check. Assurance that the act will not reoccur, and illustrating how and why it will not reoccur (“[n]ext time I’ll roll the ball”)? Check. Humble tone? Check. Absence of rambling self-justification? Check.

Is there anything that could make this apology better? Maybe a cupcake? No. The starkness of the note, unaccompanied by anything that might be construed as bribery or distraction, underlines the sincerity of the apology.

Learned well you have, young padawan.