I Wonder Why I Wonder...
Do you?
I've always been curious. I search for the why. I have a difficult time just letting things happen without wondering. I wonder...a lot. My wife had never heard of so much wondering before she met me. Naturally, I wonder why she never wondered like me. Or does she wonder and call it something else?
I wonder about small things.
Right now, I am wondering why my dog is whining. She ate, walked, pooped, and peed.
Earlier, while eating a pastrami Reuben, I wondered if pastrami, turkey, or corned beef was the original. This, of course, led me to wonder where the first Reuben was eaten. And why is it called a Reuben? Why is rye the bread of choice? Thinking about rye bread immediately sparked my wonder about pumpernickel. What is pumpernickel? I wonder, given all the varieties of bread, who would choose pumpernickel and why?
I wonder from the moment I wake up in the morning.
I wonder why it's so difficult to get up early to go to the gym, fully aware that going in the afternoon stinks.
I wonder about the weather and whether I need a jacket or a sweatshirt, or both. I wonder why my phone app calls for rain all day, and the radio says it will end late in the morning.
I wonder if I should get gas before or after work.
While making a peanut butter sandwich, I often wonder if I should use a knife or a spoon to dig the hardened peanut butter from the jar, despite all the bent spoons. It’s quite the conundrum when I open the silverware drawer.
I wonder at work.
I wonder why boys wear shorts and T-shirts on days when it's freezing, and I wonder why the same boys wear hooded sweatshirts on warm summer days.
Just yesterday, I wondered when it became the norm for colleagues to walk in the hallway, glaring at their phones.
This morning, I wondered why one of the sweetest girls in third grade has so few friends and has difficulty connecting with peers.
Entering the cafeteria today, I wondered why different teachers have different tolerance levels for noise. I wondered if the sum of all conversations among 100+ students equals inevitable noise, with no disrespect intended.
I can wonder about ANYTHING.
Whenever I lose something like my keys or wallet, after only five minutes of searching, guess what I ALWAYS wonder? Without a doubt, I wonder if I threw it away.
When we go to an incredible estate sale on a Sunday, I wonder about all the treasures we missed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This one drives my wife crazy.
When I text someone, and they don't immediately text back, I WONDER if they're mad at me.
Don't even get me started on all the wondering I do about my kids.
I frequently wonder why my backyard birds rarely eat from the bird feeder on the left. Same feeder, same food. Speaking of the birds, I wonder why the male cardinal eats on the feeder and the female eats on the ground.
Does anyone else I know often wonder who, what, where, when, why, or how?
Sometimes, I hold my wonder inside, but mostly I voice my curiosity, ask questions, and try to solve the quandary. With all of this curiosity brewing inside, my only salvation is that there can never be too much wondering…or can there? Makes me wonder.