Whyyy?!?

The good news is that after a solid two years of belonging to the "WHY? Club" that all we mothers dread, Nathaniel has given up his membership.

The bad news is that it was a short reprieve, as Emma has apparently joined it. She has been talking in sentences for over a year and I foolishly thought that perhaps we were actually going to skip that stage. I could not have been more wrong as the following conversation proves.

Sucking in her breath and letting out a huge sigh of delight Emma almost whispered: "Oh! Mummy, is dat a set up?" She pointed to the rubber letters stuck to the plastic shower wall and the few dollhouse toys sitting on the bottom of the sparkling tub I had just scrubbed out.

"Umm, ah yes - I guess so." I had simply placed things there to get them out of my way after scrubbing them.

Still in raptures of delight she asked; "Ohhhhh! Tan I get in wit de set up an play wit dem?"

Still on my knees scrubbing bathroom floor, I replied flatly; "Ah - No Emma."

To which Emma asnswered: "Whyyy?"

I sucked in my breath with the intonation of the WHY. After all the why was appropraite to a no answer, but the inflection had caught my attention. I am NOT mum2twelve without experience! "Ummm - because I just washed the tub."

Emma: (She still had her eyes glued to the letters and dolls decorating the SPARKLING tub.)
"Oh. Whyyy?"

My scrubbing hesitated for just a second and then continued as I replied with one eye now focused on Emma's back. "Because it was dirty."

Emma shot back: "Whyyy?"

I sighed, "Because it was, Emma."

"Oh. Well tan I have a bat wit the set up?"

Like a fool I kidded myself - ha! No Whyyy? So maybe we are safe. "No Emma You can't have a 'bat' right now. "

"Oh. Whyyyy?"

Bravely trying to ignore that definite inflection of the y in her why? I continued to scrub as I answered: "Because it is cold."

"Oh. Whyyyy?"

The thump of my forehead banging the floor drew her attention.

"What's wong Mummy?"

"Nothing" I gurgled, torn as whether to cry, or to laugh.