The Magic Words

Tonight at dinner Annie stopped Ike from eating by grabbing at his hand and saying, "No, Dad! First you have to say the magic words!"

"The magic words?" Ike asked. Probably, like me, he was assuming she meant "thank you."

But this is Annie. She has a whole different take on life.

"The magic words. Like Granddaddy says them. You have to hold my hand."

Jake rolled his eyes (now that he's gone from 7 to 13 in a matter of months, he rolls his eyes a lot). "Dad, she means the prayer."

So, Ike being a good, but hungry, dad said, "Okay Annie." We all grabbed hands and Ike said, "Amen.

"Amen," Jake and I chorused.

Annie looked shocked and offended. "NOOO! You have to say ALL of the words, Daddy!"

Ike looked at me (like it was my fault). "Annie, can you say the words?"

Obviously offended again, she replied, "No, Daddy. You have to say the words like Granddaddy. You are the daddy."

So we all held hands and prayed over dinner. The Magic Words.

For anyone who is touched by this evangelic display, you should know that Annie then told Jake, "See Jake? God is words."

We're raising a daughter who is a healthy mix of belief ("Magic Words" make dinner okay) and skepticism ("God is only words, you fool"). Nice.

Jake started using air quotes while talking to me today. As in, "Well, you're 'the mom,' Mom."

Perhaps a good strict fear-of-God church is just what our kids need...