prayers of all kinds

I have my own dinner prayer now. I’m fine with Brian’s Christian blessing, but it never quite covered all my bases – especially the one about sharing your blessings. And I wanted it to be simple enough for Duckie to say along with me, eventually, if she wants.

With this food, we are blessed.

With this home, we are blessed.

With our love for each other, we are blessed.

May we always share our gifts with the world.

Last Thursday night I also added “With our health.” Because Ms. C, one of the teachers at Duckie’s school, has been out for the last two weeks. Her boy, who’s a year ahead of Duck, is at a hospital across the state for open-heart surgery. Ms. D said it’s to repair a hole in the wall of his heart, but when they went in, they found another one and had to fix that, too.

On Friday I asked Ms. S about it. She lowered her voice so her kids wouldn’t overhear. “We haven’t heard much. I don’t think she’s going to be back next week. Last I heard, the surgery made it worse.”

Good God, I thought. Bad enough to think of anyone in open heart surgery, let alone a five-year-old boy. The C’s must be losing their minds.

So for the last four or five days, there has been a steady rhythm in the back of my head: “God, let him be OK. God, let him be OK. God, please let him be OK.”

If you pray, if you share energy, whatever, keep him up there in the light, would you?

His name is Nicholas.