The Club of Whys
If you've been following along, you already know that my 4-year-old, Gemma (almost five, cue the dramatic gasp), and my 3½-year-old, Jules, have both officially joined The Club of the Whys. If you've never heard of it, don't worry—you will. Membership is automatic, and the only requirement is to relentlessly interrogate your parents until they either give up or fake a bathroom break.
It was 6 a.m., and I was on my morning walk—indoors, in our gym/playroom—when Jules trotted over and asked, "Mommy, why are you walking?"
Fair question. I told her, "Because it's good to get some exercise before the day starts, so we have more energy later."
That was apparently too… grown-up.
"Why?" she asked again.
"Because it's a good habit to have."
Still not good enough.
"But why, Mommy?"
By round three of the Spanish Inquisition (toddler edition), I threw out a vague, "Because exercising is good for you."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why is it good for you?"
At that point, I pulled the emergency lever—Gemma's line: "I don't know why, sweetheart."
And then came her mic-drop moment:
"Is it because you're not big enough yet? Does Baba know? He's bigger than you."
Touché, Jules. Touché.
I agreed. "Yes, Baba is older and taller. We'll have to ask him."
She nodded with the kind of confidence only a toddler possesses and said, "When I get bigger, I'm going to know all the whys."
That one sentence stopped me in my tracks. Because don't we all think that way? As kids, we assume adulthood comes with an encyclopedia of answers. Then we grow up, become teenagers, think we do know everything, only to realize as adults that, actually… we don't know much at all.
By the time I wanted to share that little life truth with her, Jules had already dashed off to torment her sister. Typical. But her words stuck with me.
We're all just trying to figure out the "whys" of life. The only difference is, kids ask out loud—relentlessly, hilariously, and sometimes exhaustingly—while adults quietly Google it at 2 a.m.
Maybe the real secret isn't knowing all the whys.
Maybe it's keeping the curiosity alive long enough to never stop asking them.
✨ Here's to the questions that drive us crazy, make us laugh, and sometimes open our eyes to the truth we'd forgotten. ✨
Love, Gemma and Jules’s mom