Cleaning Moss

Can't argue with logic

From inside the house, Arthur watched his three children playing on the concrete patio in the backyard. They were filthy from their elbows down and were playing with a water-dirt combo in front of them.  He observed for about 10 minutes before his curiosity got the best of him.

“Hey kids, whatcha up to out here?” Arthur asked as he cracked the door open.

Denise his eight-year-old said, “We’re cleaning moss.”

Arthur stepped outside and stood near the door with his arms crossed. He said, “Interesting. Does it need to be cleaned?”

“Sure, Daddy. Look at it. It’s really dirty and won’t get clean itself, will it?”

The engineer in Arthur thought of a hundred reasons why his three kids shouldn’t be playing with dirt and moss and water, but none seemed to fit. Besides, they were playing well together, not trying to kill one another, and were having fun, so why disturb that balance?

“Okay. But I see some dirt over there that needs cleaned too,” he said and regretted the sarcasm immediately.

Denise stopped what she was doing and looked up at her father with a scrunched face. “Daddy, you can’t clean dirt. If you do, it’s mud and we’re already making some of that. Moss we can clean. Dirt, no way. How would you know it was clean, Daddy?”