Jason just didn't get it, how can something be 2 long and 6 long at the same time.  It just didn't make sense.

Jason knew how to count with numbers pretty good, he could even count over a hundred without using any fingers.  Jason knew that 2 was not the same as 6 and this defied the very laws of counting. 

At 5 and half years old Jason already had a lot of things figured out pretty good.

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The problem was yet another type of puzzle. The type of puzzle Jason liked the best, the kind with no pieces and no parts.

He had to figure this type of puzzle out with his thinking.  He knew it probably wasn't going to be easy but the good puzzles never were easy.

Jason also knew it would probably be some kind of math problem.  He didn't mind this because math was fun.  Math was really just a bunch of puzzles but instead of using letters or pieces, you used numbers and symbols.

The first thing Jason had to do was remember what he heard about 2 and 6 being the same distance. 

He tried to remember what he heard mom and dad talk about while working on the laundry room.

They were talking about putting a new shelf next to the washing machine and mom wasn't sure it would fit.  If it didn't fit then mom had no place for laundry soap..

Mom said something like "I really like this shelf for the laundry room John but it is only 2 meters long."

Then dad said something like "It's ok Laura, we have 7 feet and 2 meters is about 6 feet so we will have about a foot to spare.  We can get that shelf from the hardware store if you like."

So how can 2 feet equal 6 meters?  He knew what a foot was and he knew about meters. Feet were for walking on and meters were boxes with special looking buttons and wires.

It was times like this that Jason wished his best friend was a little more help..  His best friend Swirls always knew everything. 

She knew when dad was home before anyone ever did, and she always knows when the mail shows up before anyone else does. She even found the peperoni stick under the back seat that I lost last time we went to the beach.

Times like this Swirls was not much help. You could ask and maybe she might act like she knows but she will not tell you.  She just barks.

Jason wasn't getting far but he knew he needed to solve this puzzle.  He really didn't like it when he didn't understand things. 

He would ask dad but dad wasn't home from work yet and mom was busy doing things for a food drive next weekend. 

She hadn't been off the phone since dad left for work.  He knew she was busy and it made him feel bad when he interrupted her work.

Jason remembered that sometimes words have more than one meaning and sometimes you had to look them up in a dictionary or online to find out what they mean. 

Well mom was busy, so looking it up online was out of the question so best to get the dictionary and see if there is a different meaning for the word foot.. He doubted it but it was the only thing he could think of.

Besides it wouldn't take long.  Dictionaries were easy to use, because all the words are in alphabetical order.