Praying

At dinnertime we say a prayer to give thanks to God for our food, our day, and whatever else comes up in that moment. BB is learning about this time as we do it, and will sometimes fold his hands and lower his head with us, declaring "Paying!". One of the first times he was praying with us, I peeked and had to stifle my giggles as I watched him keep his head bowed and keep one hand curled under his chin, while the other hand reached out and grabbed a bite of dinner to start munching on. It just cracked me up that he didn't just stop "praying" altogether to start eating, but rather kept up the posture until we said Amen.

A few weeks ago in church, BB was sitting on J's lap during the music worship in the service before we took him to the nursery. The congregation all bowed our heads to pray together and a few moments into the prayer I felt a little body drape itself across my lap. BB leaned over, grabbed my clasped hands and, smiling, announced "Paying!" into the relative quiet. I think this was one of my proudest parenting moments so far.

At dinner a few nights ago, we let BB sit at the big boy table in a big boy chair (or in our case, ottoman) with Mama and Daddy, and before dinner, BB requested to pray. After our prayer, BB said "Da-din?" (again?). So J said another prayer, this time giving thanks for Mama and praying for me. When we said Amen, BB still wanted "moe pay?" and we said "You say a prayer! You pray!". BB bowed his head, folded his hands, smiled and looked at me and said, "Mama...Amen."

You know, the time surrounding age two so far has been full of challenges - J and I are getting hit with little hands, kicked against, managing fits all day long, monitoring time outs for all of the above, and saying "No" over and over and over. As the parent you have to win - every time. It's exhausting. And sometimes, especially when BB turns his head and scowls when you try to give him kisses, you wonder if your kid even likes you anymore.

Hearing that little "Mama...Amen," prayer at the dinner table, well let's just say that it was just the affirmation I needed from my boy to recharge my Mama-battery.

I couldn't hold back my tears.