The never ending WHY

It's a cliché in comedic bits about parenting: the kid asks an endless barrage of questions which inevitably turns into a staccato series of "Why, Why, but Why?!"  And the parent always gets exasperated and/or pummeled into the submission of saying "I don't know why!  It's just because!"

But I have a confession: I enjoy the questions.  Every time my little man expresses some curiosity about the world, a little flag waves in my mind reminding me that my kid is engaged, is paying attention, is constantly learning.  I made a decision before he was born to do my very best to answer every question he asks, as many as it takes to get a to a point where is satisfied or I just don't know the answers (and then we go to the internet for answers!).

I won't lie - there are definitely times (generally an hour past bedtime when the questions tend to lean in the "silly" direction and my brain is in shutdown mode) when my commitment to this question answering is tested, but in the end I can never say no [more questions] to this face:

So, yeah, this week I have engaged in 10+ minute digressions about how internal combustion engines work, how the calamari we had for dinner was right then working it's way through his tummy on a route to become poop and then out to the potty, and a long (and confusing, to me) conversation about what is "under the road".  And the truth is, I enjoyed each talk.  Just don't ask me why.