I don't understand what's going on here.

I remember this question when my family decided to emigrate from England to Australia.  Same question when some relatives who came to Australia decided to go back to England 

What do you want to do that for? 
 
Do you have that certain someone in your life that no matter what you are doing, they just have to ask.  "What do you want to do that for?".  If your answer is no, then I applaud you.  I got asked this question all the time and my "someone" was my Mother.

Here's just a partial list of things I've done that triggered her "WDYWTDTF's?":
     The choice of names for her grandsons.
     Making my own baby food.
     Starting a home based business with my husband.
     Stopping at the local greenhouse every Friday to see what herbal goodies i could plant the next day.
     Trying to continually increase my cooking skills to serve my picky husband and children excellent homemade and sometimes homegrown meals.
     I made & remade custard tarts until I got them perfect.  Why?  I don't know exactly as i never thought that they had such a great taste myself.
     Having a 1/4 spoonfull of sugar in my tea.

The "WDY...?'s" did drive me crazy sometimes.
    Before my mother's passing my friend Coralie, a professional landscaper, told me she wanted to design & help build a memorial garden for me.  She explained she had done this for herself when her mother had passed away. She said it gave her great comfort to have a place for meditation, to pray or just feel close to her mum.  What a thoughtful gift but I knew Coralie had no time.  She's a single, working mum who's very involved in her church & community.  If she just had the time to help design and lay out the garden I'd be grateful.  I didn't mind doing the work.  I truly needed the distraction.  I started out by designing my garden on the computer and then placed the plantes where they would be most happy.
     I must say Coralie outdid herself.  She laid out a wildflower area for butterflies, a fire pit, gazebo and two memorial gardens.  Mum has roses & plants from her house of 50 years.  Respectful of Mother's frugal nature, Coralie allowed for food producing areas too.  For Mum I chose Sea Buckthorn and Jerusalem Artichoke.  Sea Buckthorn or sea berry (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a very ornamental grey green shrub.  It's yellow orange fruits are said to contain high levels of vitamins A, C, and E.  It's supposed to taste like a blend of orange and passion fruit.  Plus, if it could survive in Siberia for centuries I figured it could survive my own gardens growing conditions.  It's flourished nicely but hasn't fruited yet. 
The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberous) grows 7-12 feet tall and is covered by a sunflower type yellow flower.  It produces an edible tuber that is supposed to taste like water chestnuts, be low in calories and high in potassium.  What really sold me on it were these 2 things; it was supposed to smell like chocolate and it's native here.  Well, when I dug the tubers they were soft, don't know what happened there.  It did flower abundantly and the yellow finches loved it when it went to seed.  Some said it did smell like chocolate others said butter.  Either smell is fine by me!
...And of course the Bears garlic (Allium Ursinum) that mum always mentioned while we were out for walks in the forest. I planted Hopi Red Dye amaranth (It's a gorgeous & hardy red leafed plant.  It's early leaves are edible like spinach and later can be used for dyeing.  The Hopi's use it to dye their cornbread red for ceremonies.

    Ah yes, Mother's final "WDY...?".  While weeding in the new garden area and prioritizing my very long garden to do list, I was appreciating the day even though I still missed Mum.  You know that perfect springtime day when it's hot enough to finally bake winter from your bones but not hot enough to make you resent the sun's rays?  At that moment as I viewed the blossoming plants and listened to Nature's song, I heard it.  Clear as a bell!!  My Mother's voice saying,  "What are you doing that for?"  Shocked, I was about to recite my lengthy lists of "why's" but I really wanted to give her a worthy answer.  I thought about it for a few minutes.  "What am I doing all this work for?", I asked myself.  As the laughter bubbled up and over, a simple answer popped out,  "It's because I can!".  Sorry Mum, no lofty or even rational answer do I have but I have truly cherished those gardens.  From the kind thoughtfulness that brought it all into being to the bench where I sit to think or rest while looking at your garden angel.  The one my sister bought you years ago for Mother's day.  I have and do enjoy the solace of this place!

Peace to anyone that's lost someone.  I hope you have a special place like my garden to remember your loved one in.

To everyone that gets asked, "What do you want to do that for?" what's your answer to the question?

You are a hero Kye,
it is hard when it is someone so powerful in your life saying something that always makes you doubt yourself. This term wasn't used to me, but I am all too familiar with the sentiment!
How wonderful that it was in the garden in memory of your mum that led you to the answer!

I think my answer to that question would be (is): "It is none of your business!"

Hurrah for reclaiming our own lives!

JoyYamDaisy wrote:

You are a hero Kye,
it is hard when it is someone so powerful in your life saying something that always makes you doubt yourself. This term wasn't used to me, but I am all too familiar with the sentiment!
How wonderful that it was in the garden in memory of your mum that led you to the answer!

I think my answer to that question would be (is): "It is none of your business!"

Hurrah for reclaiming our own lives!