Tuesday, August 18, 2009

bless his heart

You would think that we would have learned our prayers from Mom...not so.





Dad was the teacher of the prayers.

I remember as if it was yesterday...the little bedroom, the parchment shade pulled, hearing the bigger kids playing outside, Susan on the inside by the wall and the crib over in the corner. Mom was probably feeding or bathing the baby, (there was always a baby) while Dad put us to bed. It was a wonderful time for us girls, and after raising six kids of my own, I'll bet it was a sweet time for Dad too.

Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
God bless Mummy and Daddy, Micky and Steve, Susan and Gary Russell, Deborah and Yvonne,
Phillip, Buddy and Mary
Make me a good girl. Amen

Whenever I heard, or saw the "Now I Lay Me" in print, it was never exactly the same as the one we had learned from Dad. I figured, I had remembered it wrong or maybe Dad had his own version...a definite possibility.

This morning, (I like to call it Pajama Tuesday) I happened upon an old John Wayne movie I hadn't seen. The storyline was sweet, the characters were endearing and I was most curious as to how they were going to feed a newborn infant! Long story short...one of the Godfathers was saying the "Now I Lay Me" and this is how it went...
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."
"God bless my father and mother and my little sister and make me a good boy. Amen!"


Dad loved western movies, it came out in 1948, the year Susan was born...we were too little, so he probably taught it to Micky and Steve first, and by the time we were 3 and 4 he had it down pat.
I'm listning to:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14UKBjC5Is

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE the old memories. I wonder if my kids will remember Matthew giving them a bath and reading them their bedtime stories:)

    ReplyDelete