Can I Get an Amen?

Here's something to drive me back to the blog after a long hiatus....

About a month and a half ago as I was making my way down Duke Street, I heard an utterance from the back seat that gave me pause. "French fry!" Just when I thought it must have been my imagination, there it was again. "French fry!" Oh jeez.  We had just past by the McDonald's.  I started making excuses to soothe my conscience and racked my brain to tally how many times we'd been there in last few weeks.  Well, I had been going there much more lately for the cheaper coffee and an occasional Egg McMuffin pregnancy craving in the morning and we'd been stopping by here or there for lunch while running errands.  Uh oh.   Had I failed as a parent because I had occasionally succumbed to the conveience and cost of a McNugget Happy Meal?  Was I becoming too lax in my parenting style?  Did I need to adopt a more assertive, focused approach that didn't include fried food? 

Fast forward to Good Friday and the Stations of the Cross at church.  Somehwere near the baptismal pool (which he was trying to go swimming in), I heard a new word pop out of William's mouth.  "Amen!"  What?  Did he really just say that?  Great!  But how?  I had never taught him that and frankly his behavior didn't indicate he was really listening or paying attention at all.  Just like the McDonald's incident, I was left to wonder.  This time, though, I didn't wonder whether I was getting it "right" as a mother, but instead I was in wonder of the awesome ability of the human mind to acquire language and think new ideas as well as the joy I feel in watching my son grow and change each new day.  So, even though he enthusaistically says french fry when we pass by the Golden Arches he says Amen when we pass by church, too.   For me, that's enough reassurance that everything is all right.  Amen!