Pray For Morning

When I was a kid, before I went to sleep, I used to say this:
"Now I lay me down to sleep"
That part's easy. It's bed time and it is time to close our eyes. Then came the another pretty simple bit:
"I pray the Lord my soul to keep"
Nice rhyme. Nice sentiment. It's comforting, but it is also a setup for the next line:
"If I should die before I wake"
Oh please, I'm nine years old. Now the door is about to close. The curtain is about to come down. Maybe not today, but maybe in the middle of the night the Grim Reaper will creep in, toss the covers back, snatch me up and carry me off into the night. So here comes the consolation:
"I pray the Lord my soul to take"
There's the Lord again, taking possession of my soul. Thanks, Lord. But I really hope it doesn't come to that. I'm kind of looking forward to recess tomorrow. That's why we always finished off with:
"God bless me, mom, dad, Doug, Dan, Rupert, Jack, and everybody in the whole world, Amen."
I like the fact that I began my list with myself. I included my family and my pets. And everybody in the whole world. Even the bad people. Because you never know when you're going to need that sort of assurance. Especially if you die in your sleep. Nighty night.