There were things I hoped my daughters would not inherit from me.

I have a daughter who, for her age, is particularly good with people--all people. Men, women, old, young. Once, when she was eight years old, she sat at a high school graduation reception table and made animated small talk for at least five minutes about golfing, with a man who was almost sixty. That's just how she rolls.

Now, several years older, she's …