previous archives next

whysper
words count : journeys

domytriesthis

.com : .nu
letters

sunday, july 29, 2001
but whyeeeee?


nearly all little kids go through a "why?" stage when they are little. why is the grass green? why doe the clouds get gray? why is that color red? in a way this has to be one of the most annoying stages for most parents. why is the sky blue? because the air makes it blue? but why? i don't know, honey, just something about what the air does to the sky? but why? (desperation sinks in) because god made it that way. but, why? i don't know, he just did. but... i think you get the picture. every answer is responded to with 'why?' or 'but why?' until the poor parent finds a way to get said child to stop. this is not relief you know. once the why's on the sky are finished, the child pauses, sees a single blade of grass and asks, "mommy, why is grass green?" even if you know about chloroform and all that other greenery stuff, they find a way around such scientific knowledge or just question the very nature of science itself. my understanding is that it can be a very exhausting process.

that's right. after four of the little things i have yet to pass through the toddler why stage. oh, there was the occasional why question, but my kids all seemed pretty content with my answers and never bedeviled me with more why's. our toddler years were spent with other things that i probably received in spades as punishment for bypassing the why stage, but they were worth bypassing that particular parent torture dreamed up all little ones everywhere.

until now that is...

we are going through an entirely different kind of why stage that has saxy and i ready to move out. this is the whiny, teenage, "but (insert nasal whiny tone here) whyeeeeeeeeeee?" it is the response to any answer they get that is not what they want to hear. and, just like the toddlers from whom they got the idea, a reasonable answer does not suffice.

typical conversation:

saxy: phoenixcat, we've told you not to play with the kids in this neighborhood. we do not feel it is appropriate or safe.

phoenixcat: but, but, uh, whyeeeeee?

mother: their parents do drugs and most of the time they are mean to you. we don't want you to get caught up in anything that could get you in trouble and you don't need the bad influences. (see, being very logical...a 14 year old should be able to understand this)

phoenixcat: but, but, but why can't i just talk to them!

saxy (losing patience): we explained that! we don't want you to have anything do with them!

phoenixcat: uh, uh, uh, but all i was doing was talking, why....

mother (realizing saxy is losing patience): phoenixcat, we have explained this to you repeatedly. you are not to associate or talk to the kids on this street. (wondering how a child who can understand the 'associate' can not understand the reasonable, calm explanations we have just given her).

phoenixcat: but..but..whyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee???!!!

from there it just degenerates into tears and all kinds of problems, ending with stomping and door slamming.

this morning i was blessed with a why conversation between saxy and jewel. apparently between church and phoenixcat's friend coming over she wanted to do every under the sun. saxy was trying to give her reasonable explanations and her response? but whyeeeeeeeeeee?

its contagious. and they never learn from the previous teenager that it doesn't work and only manages to irritate.

so now i am going through a whole new breed of the 'but why' stage with two teen girls.


but whyeeeeeeeeeeee?

site of the moment

alexisparker.com

~*~

one year at a time
2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020

give me them all

~*~

. ? 100 Things # .

~*~

real eyes . BlogTree
family tree . chimera
.:| Year of Reading |:.




Since July 9, 2000

"Rhysa and the Dragon" © 2001 - 2020 by Amanda Penrose and created exclusively for Denyse "domynoe" Loeb; All Rights Reserved. Not be duplicated, copied, uploaded to another server, linked to, or used for any other purpose other than viewing while visiting the domynoes network and affiliated domains. In other words, it was made for me, I paid for it, it is mine, hands (and mice) off. This website has been optimized for 800x600 and 1024x768 monitor resolutions.

Graphics, Site Design, Content & Writings © 1999 - 2020 by Denyse "Domynoe" Loeb unless otherwise noted. Except where noted, all graphics and content created/authored by Denyse "domynoe" Loeb. Gifts pages copyrighted by their respective creators and were created exclusively for Domynoe. All rights reserved. Graphics, design, and content writings may not be duplicated, copied, uploaded to another server, or used for any other purpose other than viewing while visiting the domynoes network and all affiliated sites including domynoes.com, domynoes.net, alden.nu, dreamininink.com and dragyncat.com. While linking to individual pages are permitted, links must NOT hide the original URL or domain, may not be framed off the network, or interfere with navigation of the original domain. Graphics and other files may not be linked to outside the pages on which they appear within the network and associated domains. For more information, please visit one or more of the following: what is copyright | 10 myths about copyrights | u.s. copyright faq | u.s. copyright office | r.i.g.h.t.s. | no electronic theft. Special thanks to M. J. Young for help with this copyright notice.