My son crawled for the first time while I was away on business. I also missed his first steps. I was now afraid I would miss his first words. Each day, I called home and asked if he had spoken yet.

The answer was always "no" until one day my wife said, "Harry has something to say to you.... 'Daddy, daddy,'"

I heard it over the phone and I glowed with pride. My wife came back on the line and said, "You should come home as soon as possible."

"Why?" I asked.

"He was speaking to the dog."