It never ceases to surprise me when I find myself in the middle of a real conversation with my five-year-old. I'll ask a question, or she will, and the other will respond, and two minutes later I realize that not only is my little girl very curious, she is also quite bright and getting very grown-up.

Tonight, she was telling me a story about a dragonfly that she found with a friend, and I said something in the voice of the dragonfly. I expected her to react to the silliness of a talking dragonfly, but instead, she stopped, thought a moment about what I'd said, and than smiled. "That's funny."