It was a scorching hot afternoon and the mom was spending the afternoon by the pool with her small daughter.
They were sitting at the poolside table - the mother and the little girl.
The daughter begins to chatter about the sun. "Why does it burn you?" she asks, trying to move her chubby body beneath the shade of the umbrella.
"Because it's like fire - like a giant fire ball," the mom answers. "It just burns your skin if you are out in it too long," she takes a sip of her delicious iced tea.
Then ... the small daughter begins to rattle off a series of facts that she knows about the sun. "You know ... the sun doesn't move. The earth moves. Even when it looks like the sun is moving - it's not the sun moving - it's the earth, " she takes a breath, "The earth turns and turns and it also moves around the sun. They only went to Mars, you know."
"Went where?" the mom asks.
"To Mars - you know - Mars," she rolls her eyes.
"Who went?"
"The aster-nots --- went to Mars," she looked at her mom, knowingly.
The mom smiled. "I think it was the moon, Hon. The astronauts only ever made it to the moon."
The small girl looked bewildered.
"I think maybe I'm right. I 'member learnin' that the aster-nots went to Mars," she pulled a towel around her wet body, turned her nose up towards Mars and ... sighed.
The mom smiled and ...
Dropped it.
On the upside ... The mom knew that she probably should have insisted that
the small daughter listen to her - convinced her that it was in fact the moon and not Mars - but, she just didn't give a crap - you know. There are some things that are just not worth the fight. She often lets the small girl believe she is right - even when she is not - and just hopes that the daughter will learn the correct facts by the time it really matters - like high school. Surly the girl will clear up this Mars/moon fact before she enters high school - surly!