Four (and six)-letter words

In recent months, I have been putting a concerted effort into Eska's education. More specifically, we have been working on her vocabulary. Anyone who knows me will know that I don't much belong to the school of thought that sustains that "if you've nothing nice to say, say nothing at all." Still, when thinking about which words I wanted my beloved girl to learn, only the kind ones crossed my mind.

I have been telling her since our partnership that she is a "sweet, and a kind, and a gentle baby," so she's got all those covered. More recently, I taught her "love" by repeating the word after (or following it up with) a kiss (usually on the face, because, let's be honest, she has a pretty face). A month or so of efforts on my end yielded a very tangible (and slobbery) result: when asked "what's love," Eska will plant a long wet one right where it counts.

She's such a smart girl.

I have been trying, for almost just as long, to teach her "friends," but she has been having a harder time with that one. I started with the age-old adage, "cats are friends," but, not surprisingly, she didn't buy it. I tried to pair the repetition of "friends" with hugs and pets, but it was inconclusive whether or not she was actually getting it: "do you know what it is, 'friends,'" consistently got me only a blank stare from my girl. I thought all was lost, and concentrated my efforts on other battles, like getting her to understand the difference between "ball," "bone," and "chicken."

This is why I will never finish my dissertation.

Today, however, as she so frequently does, my beloved little baby pulled a fast one on me. As we sat entwined in what she has come to know as kishnahugs (a kiss and a hug at the same time), I told her that we were best friends. Weren't we the best of friends? Yes, we were the best of friends, I said. Did she know what it was, "friends?" Could she say it to me? What's "friends," girl?

At first, all I was met with was the customary glaze over her eyes. Just as I started to pull away and out of our embrace, though, I saw her face come close to mine and, just like that, she gave me a big ole kiss -- on the cheek.

I dare say, I think she got it.

It's so nice to see her word-count grow in such a healthy direction. Still, I can't wait for the lesson on "motherfucker." Something tells me she won't need much help understanding.