We have officially entered the phase of why.

By ‘we’ I mean myself, my daughter, my son-in-law and basically anyone else who comes in regular contact with my granddaughter and has a conversation with her.

At two-and-a-half, Lorelei is displaying that insatiable inquisitiveness that strikes toddlers at some point, when they have to know the answer to absolutely everything.

“Why” is her favorite word. It is just a little bit ahead of the word “No” which she also likes to use quite frequently.

Unfortunately for anyone discussing things with her, she is not just a one-and-done why. If you answer the first ‘why’ there is always another.

After I buckled her in her car seat and started off on a drive the other day, I told her where we were going.

“We’re heading to Escalon this afternoon.”

“Why, Mimi?”

“Because I want to get some pictures at the Farmers Market.”

“Why?”

“So I can use them in the newspaper.”

“Why?”

“Because people like seeing the pictures.”

“Why?”

After four or five whys, it’s hard to come up with an answer other than “Because.”

We all try our best, I know that, and often I dissuade her from continuing to ask why by steering her in another direction or by offering an overly long explanation of something that is really quite simple.

Not only does she want to know why everything is the way it is, she has also moved in to her parrot stage. More often than not, she repeats what you just said, directs it back at you but ends it with a question mark.

My dog needed to go to the vet for an appointment recently so I shared that tidbit.

“Bella has to go to the doctor,” I told her.

“Bella has to go to the doctor?” she queried.

“Yes,” I said.

“Why?”

… There’s no winning a conversation with a two-year-old.

She does want to know as much as possible about everything going on around her and sometimes, I am amazed at how well her memory works. I tend to chew gum and she always wants me to blow bubbles but it’s usually mint gum and not really good for much but a tiny bubble. The last time I was chewing it I told her it wouldn’t blow good bubbles but if she would remind me, the next time we were at the store I could buy some actual bubble gum and blow some decent bubbles for her.

Fast forward a few weeks and she and I happened to stop in at a store so I could pick up a couple of needed items. After she was settled in the cart and we entered the store, she looked at me and asked “Mimi get bubble gum?”

She still talks about her birthday trip to Monterey in January and some of the animals she saw at the aquarium, plus she will randomly bring up events that happened weeks ago to talk about them and ask questions.

You can see her little mind working; sometimes her brain is moving at hyper speed and she can’t quite get her words out fast enough. It might take her a while and sometimes she stutters on a few of the words, but she is able to get her point across.

Her summer has been a busy one of swim lessons, a return to gymnastics class and, more recently, starting her second round of dance.

She also likes coming to the office with me on occasion; she gets to visit with my co-workers and she definitely knows where we have our little stash of sweet treats like gummy bears and watermelon rings. That’s usually her first stop.

Why?

Because.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.