Nostalgia

When my first grandchildren - a boy and a girl - were small, they often came to stay with us and I used to say bedtime prayers with them.  I would kneel between the beds, take a hand each, and off we would go.  Of course, they were over excited, so to calm them down I would pretend we were on the telephone to God but the line was engaged: while we were waiting we would say a Hail Mary and Oh Sacred Heart (they were Roman Catholics) and then, when Jesus was free,  we would start on everyday prayers - from our usual Grace -  “Thank you Jesus for my food, I hope you’ll help me to be good” to “God bless Mummy & Daddy etc etc etc" until we had covered everybody we could possibly imagine....and anyone we had overlooked.  By then, they were fast asleep, and I would creep out, knowing that they were in safe hands.   I once submitted a narrative like this to our then Parish Magazine and was roundly told off by the Rural Dean for suggesting that Jesus might have been too busy to listen at first; but as the RC magazine had published it without demur I told the Dean to get lost.  I think I said “lost”.