Can Someone Just Tell Me Why?

Why?

It's a really good question. It helps one understand a situation. It helps you make informed decisions. It's a good single word question. One never gives this word much thought until that you have a toddler. The incessant barrage of "why?" throughout the day is enough to make you lose your mind.

With Micah's delays, things like "why?" have been delayed as well. I just don't even think about things like "why?" when I'm working with him to write his name legibly and helping him count to 20. His enunciation in the teens is lacking. His counting is pretty much one, two, three, four, five, fix, seven, eight, nine, ten, lalalan (I love that), wa, een, een, een, een, een, een, een, twenty. (Except that numbers one through ten, and twenty aren't that well enunciated, either. But they can definitely be deciphered.)

So when I heard Micah question "why?" the other week, I kind of smiled. It's a milestone for kids to reach, even if nobody ever thinks of it. I love when the boy reaches milestones that nobody else thinks about. He's growing in big ways all the time. And he uses it appropriately, of course.

Micah, put your shoes on. It's time for school.

WHY?

Micah, come eat dinner.

WHY?

Micah, feed the dogs, please.

WHY?

It's just been a week or so of this fun stage of questioning everything from the moment he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed at night, so I haven't had time to grow tired of hearing it yet. But then the boy kicked it up a notch.

Will you put this away for me, Micah?

WHY, WHY, WHY?

I just grinned, because what else was I going to do? It could be a long, looooonnnnnng time before he outgrows this stage. Or it could be next week. But in the meantime, it's not my job to question why, it's obviously Micah's.