I was watching Ellie trace imaginary lines through the pages of one of her books.

Me: Ellie, what are you working on?

Ellie: I’m just looking for ings.

Me: Oh, what are ings?

Ellie: Words ending in i-n-g (duh implied)

Me: Oh, words like sleeping, working, writing?

Ellie closes the book and looks at me as though I had just given her a bad hair-cut while she was asleep.

Ellie: Thanks for stealing my learning Mom.