While my family stopped going to church when I was 8 or so, I used to say a nightly prayer in my head as I was falling asleep. It was a little refrain that used to run through my head almost automatically – it’d start with the usual “dear god”, ask for blessings for my peeps; then get into whatever I was asking for that particular week, such as passing a test or waking up skinny or that my mom would shut up and leave me alone. All good stuff, very normal, look what a pious child I was.

For some reason, the whole string of prayer came back to me as I was drifting off to sleep last night, complete with the appropriate cadence and lilts. It was exactly the same each and every night, so there was a definite flow to it and each person getting a bless request had their own place in the chorus. The whole thing was a nightly habit; it wasn’t until I was 18 or so that I was able to actually fall asleep without the whole thing looping faster and faster in my head like some kind of hyperactive incantation.

So, last night as I remembered this chant that would haunt my sleepiest thoughts, it dawned on me that most normal people ask for blessings for their parents, their pets, their friends and themselves. I did that too. Normal people, however, usually DON’T ask for blessings for cartoon characters as though they were real people. After blessing my parents (because I thought you HAD to, regardless of how crappy they were) and my entire line of pets, I would ask for blessings for Optimus Prime, and Batman & Robin. Nightly. It was the middle of the refrain, and skipping them would be bad luck. It had to be done! They need blessings too!

Part of me thinks it’s cute. The rest of me, however, wonders just how I managed to grow up, forge relationships, not be addicted to any sort of mind-altering substances, and hold down a real job that doesn’t involve pixie dust or carrying a wand.

.. then I remember who I really am, and it all kind of makes sense after all.

PS: I painted daisies on my face in sparkle glitter last night, and it was awesome.