It is the
age of discovery. Four. When life begins to get really interesting. For the
four-year-old. And for their parents.
The kid is seeing things in a different way than he ever has before. And the
parents are desperately searching for the remote to turn off the why button.
At our most
recent trip to the emergency room…Why are there beds in here? So people who
don’t feel good can lay down until the doctor comes in to see them. How did the
doctors get here? (Note: by this time, it is after 3:00 a.m. and we’ve been
here for over four hours.) They followed the nurses. Why did the nurses come
here? Because this is where they work. Why do they work here? Because the
doctors need them. Why do they need them? They are afraid of needles. Oh. Why…?
I don’t know.
Driving home
from the mall…wow, that’s a tall building. What kind of building is that? An
office building. What’s an office building? Where people go to work. Is it fun
work? Not always but sometimes. I don’t think I want to work there. You’re too
young anyway. (At this point, I am biting my tongue, wondering why I kept the
conversation going.) Why am I too young? Because they don’t let kids work until
they are, like, 18. Why? Hey, Elijah, look at that dump truck!!!
Pointing to
my hair…what’s that white stuff? It’s some of my hair. Why is it white? Because
I need to color it. Will you color it red again? Yes, I will. Why do you color
it red? So it matches the rest of my hair. Why does your hair get white? Because
you ask so many questions. Why do I ask so many questions? Because that’s how
you learn things. Why do I need to learn things? Hey, Elijah, do you want some chocolate?
Why can’t I
go outside? Because it’s raining. Will I shrink if I get wet? Yes, you will. Why
is it raining? Because the flowers and grass need water. Why do they need
water? So they can grow and look pretty. Do I need water to grow and look
pretty? Only at bath time. Where does the water come from? It comes from the
sky. What’s water? *facepalm*
Ok. I get
it. He’s four and he has a lot of questions. And that’s how kids learn. But
every other sentence out of his mouth is a question. Will he ever stop? I sincerely hope not. Seriously, I hope he
never stops.
