bffsmias

The daily ritual goes something like this. "How was your day?" "Great. I stayed on red." "Good job buddy. What was the best part of your day?" "Recess/music/that we had pizza for lunch." But not today.

"How was your day?" "Uh, I'm so mad at Kylie. She told everything I said to everybody." "She told everybody?" "Well, no. Just Cate." "What did she tell Cate?" "That she's not my bffsm." "Your bff...s..m?" "Yeah, Cate was my bffsm but now Ella is and Kylie kept trying to hear everything she wasn't supposed to hear and then she told Cate and then Cate got mad at me because I said she isn't my bffsm." "What's a bffsm?" "Best friend forever sister marry." "Sister marry?" "Yeah, s, you love like a sister; m, you want to marry them. So ever since Ella invited me to the ball she is my bffsm and Kylie told Cate and she wasn't supposed to."

Then there were feeble attempts to try to get Titus to see that he's only six and that lovers' triangles are confusing entanglements that are best avoided by appreciating the outstanding qualities of individuals and that labels such as BFF, BF, BFFSM, BFFS...although purposeful, really can end up hurting people's feelings. Even though none of that hurts yours.

And then came a few more minutes of clarity. "So, mom, how many people can you marry?" "Only one at a time, but you can love as many people as you want. I thought Cate was the nicest person you've ever met." "She is. That's why she's my bffs...but I think I'll make her a bffsm too."

"And what about Grace Middleton?" "Just a minute. (At this point, Titus ducked down in the back seat for about 30 seconds and then returned to his perch on the console by my driver's seat.) She's my bffias. Bffias? Yeah, my best friend forever in another state."

I guess my advice about labels will need more time to soak in.