As an adult, I guess I no longer have the luxury of staying basically oblivious to the state of our economy. All the same, I feel a little odd about the close attention I pay to the shards of good news that might salvage us from a recession. According to The Conference Board, the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.8 percent in January. That’s cause for some optimism, right? It’s weird not being a kid anymore.