In her words

Three fairly recent conversations with Carolyn.

CONVERSATION #1: We were driving down the road and passed a cyclist. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I can see the little wheels in her mind turning. She asked, "Mom, why does our car go fast? Super-fast, faster than that man on the bicycle?" "Well," I hesitated a moment, thinking about how I would answer this question in a way that she would understand. She then said, "Is it because cars have engines?" "Yes, Carolyn, that is right." I was amazed that she had come up with a better answer than I was trying to come up with in my mind to tell her. Then, she asked, "Do we go to the station [gas station] to put gas in the engine? Does gas give the car energy? Is that why our car goes super-fast? And the bike not as fast?" Holy smokes, I could not have come up with a better answer for her.

CONVERSATION #2: On a sunny afternoon, we were blowing bubbles in the yard. She also had a small ball in her hand. As she was running after the bubbles to catch them (POP!), she dropped her ball. Then, she stopped, picked up her ball, looked at the bubbles floating away, and then looked up at me. Uh oh. I knew a question was coming. You can see it on her face. "Mom, why does my ball drop to the ground and my bubbles float in the air?" I told her because the bubbles are lighter than the ball, but that she would have to ask Daddy for a better answer. So, she immediately went inside and asked Daddy. He tried to come up with a better answer. I am not sure his answer satisfied her, but some other wonder of the world amazed her next annd she was on to a new question. Thank god for short attention spans.

CONVERSATION #3: We were driving on an elevated road, and we had a good view of the entire valley, both to the east (toward the mountains) and the west (toward the lake). It was in the evening, around dusk. She looked toward the lake and said, "The sky is getting pink, so the sun must be going to bed." Then, she looked toward the mountain where the moon was already high in the sky, saying "But, mom, I can see the moon over there. I see both the sun and the moon. Why can I see both the sun and the moon?" When we got home, the first thing she told Steve about her day was, "Daddy, I saw both the sun and the moon at the same time. Isn't that funny, daddy? The moon comes when the sun goes to bed. He must have come early today. "

Ah. I just love to see her little mind at work. But, I fear that I may not always be able to answer her questions. Her curiosity is already bumping with my knowledge about the physical world (admitedly, not one of my strong points -- THANK GOD for Steve!).