(More) Quotable Jason

Jason continues to amuse and amaze us with his insights, ideas and pronouncements.

With his sixth birthday coming up (!!!), Jason was recently presented with a $20 bill, and shared with me his plans for it.  At first he thought maybe he’d buy a toy Batman “laptop” (“But I’ll need another $7”), then changed his mind to a toy cash register and finally decided maybe he should just deposit it in the bank, because “”If I leave it in for fifty years, it’ll grow to $138.02”.  I didn’t bother checking his math; he’s probably right.

Numbers continue to fascinate Jason, who recently moved from division and fractions to the subject of probability. “Probability,” Mommy explained, “is the likelihood something will happen.  For instance, with zero being “no chance” and one being “certain,” what do you think is the probability a coin will land heads-up when you toss it?”  Jason piped up immediately, “One half!” but then thought better of it and said, “No…wait…less than that, because it might land on the edge.”  Quite the scientist, that one.

Literal-minded as ever, Jason recently pointed out a sign on a store that is “Open 365 days a year” and explained, “That means every four years, they’re closed for a day.”  Aha, Leap Years.  Gotta be more specific with those signs, folks.

The day after he and Scotty had visited the local fire station for a talk on fire safety, I figured I’d quiz him on the “Stop, Drop and Roll” and “Fall and Crawl” techniques.  Over breakfast, I asked him, “What do you do if your pajamas catch on fire?”  Without missing a beat, he answered, “Am I wearing them?”

So I don’t try to outsmart him anymore.  We both know where I fall in the order of things.  As Jason said to me one night last week when Laura left to teach at the university, “Well, mommy’s gone.  You’re the ruler now.”