Amen!

Its a common practice in praying communities, when one person at a gathering voices the prayer for those gathered, for those present to say a soft "Amen" at the conclusion of the prayer. Sometimes its like a soft murmur passing over the crowd, rising and then gone almost as soon as it started, like a wave. This has always been the practice in our family, too.  We never consciously taught our kids to do that, they just seemed to pick it up on their own, probably from seeing it done all the time.  But they do seem to pick it up, sometimes even from a young age.

So a few days ago Schwartzbeere and his kids where here and we were getting everything on the table and ready for dinner.  The youngest, my birthday buddy, was already in her highchair and voicing her readiness to start eating.  Finally everything and everyone was ready and one of her brothers said the prayer.  The little sweetheart managed to contain herself and be reverent during the prayer, which I thought was pretty good, considering her impatience in the moments leading up to the prayer. But then we all had good a laugh when, an instant after her brother said the amen, she sang out with a very loud and enthusiastic "Amen!", arms thrown in the air and all.  It was really pretty funny.   Memorable, even.