Why do we do that?
It is a simple question, but if I’m being completely honest, I ask it of myself at least half a dozen times a day.
Take WhatsApp, for instance. I will open a message, read it carefully, compose a brilliant, thoughtful response entirely in my head, and then walk away. In my mind, the job is done! But in reality, I never actually typed the words or hit send. I just forget about it—until hours or days later when I open the app again and realize I’ve left someone hanging in digital limbo. Why do I do that? I have no idea.
Then there are school projects and speeches. The teacher sends a notification two weeks in advance. I make a mental note. A week later, another reminder arrives. No problem, we have time. Then suddenly it’s Sunday afternoon, and the realization hits like a lightning bolt: “You have to practice your speech!”
Predictably, chaos erupts in less than three seconds, because trying to get full, structured sentences into a seven-year-old on a Sunday afternoon is close to impossible. It is technically achievable, but certainly not sensible. Yet somehow, through sheer determination, we make it through, and by Monday morning he knows his lines by heart. Why did I wait so long? Why did I let it get to Sunday? My son doesn’t care—he just goes to school and does his best. While i promise myself it won’t happen again. And somehow, it happens again anyway.
And then there are the famous junk drawers. I tell myself, “This week, I am cleaning this out.” I throw out the clutter, wipe down the surface, and admire the tidy space. Exactly seven days later, it’s filled with a brand-new collection of random items, left to collect dust for months until the drawer physically refuses to open anymore. So I dump it all out again, clean it, and restart the cycle. Why!?
Every weeknight brings the same routine on repeat: dinner and shower by 7 PM, lights out by 8 PM. Pick up your toys, do your homework, put your clothes in the laundry basket, hang up your towel. Looking at the sheer repetition of it all, I often find myself wondering: How on earth do parents with two or three kids manage? What kind of secret rules do they have? Am I even doing this right?
I guess if a mysterious envelope containing all the answers to life ever arrives on my doorstep, I’ll finally know. But until then, I’m trying to remember that comparing how we live to everyone else’s highlight reel is the ultimate killer of joy. We are all just doing our best.
Sometimes, I think a panel of magic buttons would solve everything. Press this button to excel at sport. Press this one to freeze time and get a quiet moment to relax. Press this one for money, and that one to see the future. Knowing me, though, I’d probably mix up the buttons and end up with the wrong outcome at the completely wrong time!
When I mentioned my button theory to my son, his answer to life’s glitches was remarkably simple:
“Just press the Home button. It takes you right back to the beginning, and you can start back over”.
(We are still working on his sentence structure, but the logic is flawless.)
As August ends, September brings us something entirely new: a brand-new theme: Mysteries.
In our part of the world, September arrives with the first whispers of Spring: new leaves, blooming flowers, and fresh beginnings. In the other hemisphere, Autumn takes over with cool grays and leaves falling away. A pessimist might look at Autumn and think everything is dying. An optimist sees the truth: things fade so they can rest, re-grow, and come back stronger next season.
Let this issue be your permission to hit the “Home” button, re-grow, and find the beauty in life’s everyday mysteries. I have always been a sucker for a good mystery—which probably explains all those Why? questions running through my head.
Welcome to Issue 27 of The Pineapple.
New month, fresh topics, a few rules to question, with a little bit of curiosity to unlock.