Mama, are there rivers under the ground?

What?  Well, sort of.  What makes you ask that?

There was a hole in the ground had water in it.  And a bucket.

Ah.  A well.  We saw one in a nature center exhibit A MONTH ago.  Ground water discussions with my three year old.  Did I mention that it's 6:43am?

'Cause if there's no river, then I don't know how the hole gets the water in it.  And I need some water because I'm thirsty.

OK. It's called groundwater.  It fills in the holes and cracks in between the rocks and dirt that make up the ground.  You have to dig down until to get to where the ground is really wet, then the well fills with water.  We'll get you something to drink in just a minute.

Did I mention that it's now 6:44am?  And that I haven't had coffee yet?  And why is there a dog on my pillow?

I've decided that he must wake up at 6 or so and sit in bed and just....think.  I get one of these questions almost every morning right now.  The easy mornings are when he's got something figured out and he just wants to tell me about it.  This morning, he told me how an any colony works.  Last time, he wanted to know where his white blood cells were.  It's always a little disorienting trying to explain how the world works before I find my contacts, but I love getting a look at how he's processing information and watching it click for him.  Wouldn't trade it for anything!