1785 Preyer

Not long ago I chanced on a sit-down meal at the Adult Family Home where my dad is staying. Like many people his age he's outlived all of his brain cells, so needs supervision lest he wander off.
He maintains some fragmented memory bursts however. He was pretty excited when I told him he was going to be in an adult home but quite disappointed when he found out there were no adult films involved.
In any event, other residents' visiting relatives at the meal were saying grace. Which put me in mind of the grace we used to say while I was growing up. It was a simple one so us kids could trade off leading it.
My sister reminded me recently what it was. Like one run together word we would say, "Thank you God for the world so sweet thank you God for the food we eat thank you God for the birds that sing thank you God for everything." To which I sometimes added, "Thank you God for all we find, thank you God for bacon rinds."
That was right before I got struck by lighting.
But that put me in mind of the prayers we teach kids. Notably the "Now I lay me down to sleep" one my parents required. "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."
I remember thinking, "What? If I should die? Sleep is scary enough what with the dark and the whole black-out thing. And now you're saying death might possibly happen? And if so the Lord will take my soul somewhere?
"Am I prayer or prey?"
No wonder us kids couldn't get to sleep.
America, ya gotta love it.