Vocabulary

For as long as I can remember, I had a notebook next to my dictionary during my primary school days. (I was 12.) I kept a list of new words in that notebook. The list grew as I looked up more words in the dictionary.

My four-year-old daughter isn't equipped to find words in the dictionary. Well, she doesn't need a dictionary; a child's vocabulary simply grows by asking and listening. It reminds me of a recent conversation with my daughter, when she asked me for the meaning of new words.

"Touching. What does that word mean?" Jasmine looked at me.

"You must have heard it somewhere. This is similar to moving. It's a feeling, of being moved and touched by something that brings special meaning. Bittersweet, umm, what shall I say? I'm not exactly sure what can that be. Let me tell you when we have something really touching."

The day after the conversation, we went to the wedding ceremony of Jasmine's kindergarten teacher. She decided on her dress pretty quickly. She picked a white one, almost the same as her best friend, and quite close to that of the bride. By the time the bridegroom and bride said their speech, my daughter whispered, "Dad, why is Ms Anna crying?"

"This is touching," I smiled back. "Do you remember the word touching? Anna cries. That doesn't mean she is sad. The wedding brings back memories from when she was a girl, as small as you, when her dad and mom brought her up with love. There are so many touching memories with her family. In fact, she cries because she finds the memories touching."

I didn't know if Jasmine got the meaning right until Jasmine connected the word touching to a shadow and puppetry show two days ago. That's the story of a boy suffering from a rare disease that threatens his eyesight. He will lose his vision by Christmas, the doctor told his father. The boy's father decided to give his son lasting memories of the world's amazing sights before it's too late. He sold his small business and started a heartwarming globetrotting journey with his child.

A touching story, I agree.