Miss A's Prayer

Every night, I say, "Alice, have you said your personal prayers." and every night, she rolls over, lays on her stomach, and mumbles out the same speedy, half-hearted prayer. I try and remind her sometimes to think, and she'll tack on something that is mildly selfish and end the prayer. Well, about a week ago, I asked who wanted to say the family prayer. Even if she volunteers, it follows the same pattern as above. Well, she sat knee to knee with me, bowed her head and started. Evey was rolling around on the bed, Rich was trying to contain her, and I was just waiting for it to be over because I'd heard it 100 times. She started, "Oh dear heavenly father, I'm so grateful for this day, I'm grateful for Evey, I'm grateful for dad, I'm grateful for mom and Luke and that we're healthy. I'm grateful for school and Ms. Silvestri, I'm grateful for my books. I'm grateful for my friends. I'm grateful that other kids get all the things that they want and that I don't so I can be grateful for what I have. I'm grateful for my cousins. I'm grateful..."It went on long enough for Rich to realize that she wasn't stopping and to ignore Evey's rolling. It went on long enough that I started to listen to my 6 year old. It went on long enough for me to actually feel gratitude. When she finished, I was teary and thanked her, for real that time, for saying the prayer.