Thursday 22 June 2017

Ramadan Journal 2017: Days 13 – 20

Day 13 - Beauty


When I think of beauty, I am reminded that I do not notice it enough in my life and that I should stop and see the beauty in the ordinary and every day and take the time to revel in it:

My baby’s faces
The way small kindnesses from my husband make me feel
The sound of the Quran being recited exceptionally well,
The taste of Pakistani mangoes that are in season now (I don’t think I can ever get enough!)
How I feel after calling my mum
A fresh clean page on my new notebook

Day 14 – Noon


My parents are such sticklers for time: breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm, dinner at 7pm.  There are times to go visiting (away from a meal time unless invited) and a time after which you should avoid calling someone’s house (9pm).  My in-laws are quite the opposite, with meal times and bed times being moved around.  Guests are welcomed at any time and no time is bad for visiting when it comes to old friends and favourite relatives.

I have tended to hold onto some of my parents routines but in a more flexible way to fit in with my husband and in-laws way of doing things which I find fun.  I start my day very early, so noon time for me is lunch time, everything else gets moved around, but this stays constant.

In Ramadan I lose any sense of noon time.  The days are organised around the dawn and evening meals (suhoor and iftar) or around salah (prayer) times.  Now that I don’t eat during the day, I have an hour extra to be productive and there is a long stretch before it is time for Zoher, the afternoon prayer, which I rather like.

Day 15 – Laugh


I would as I am quick to laugh and joke, but being hungry makes me quieter and more reflective I find.  The exception is the cheeky things that the baby’s say, they never fail to make me smile.

Day 16 – Mood


Its 2am, I get up to make suhoor for my family and try to wake the older two children up by pulling them out of bed and growling at them.  I feel sorry for anyone that has to look at my face at that time.  I must look like I am in an awful mood.  I am not.  I am just trying very hard not to fall straight over.

Day 17 – Blue


I don’t usually ask for things, if someone gives me something I am happy, even if it’s not what I wanted, I believe in accepting gifts with grace. So when I saw something I wanted and asked hubby if he wanted to gift it to me for Eid, I think he was happy not to have to try and guess what I might like.  This is what I chose: 



Ok, so it is a bit more green than blue, I can’t help it, I m crazy about the colour green.

Or there is this:



The colour scheme for my decorations this Eid, I will be posting links to a set of Eid decorations in two colour schemes for people to print of and use soon insh’Allah

Day 18 – Note


I recently bought myself a new note book and set it up to capture my to-do lists and ideas.  I have been collating all of the scraps of paper, pages in different books and in my Filofax and saving them into one place – very satisfying alhamdulillah.



Day 19 – Abstract


This prompt just went over my head and left me stumped.  I don’t have any brain space left for anything more complicated than sorting laundry or simple recipes.  My brain and body seem to be on a bit of a go-slow unfortunately.  I’m not sure if it’s the effects of the last days of fasting and sleep deprivation, the heat, or a general slowing down I have been experiencing recently.  I’ll wait and see after Ramadan if I still feel like I am moving through treacle.

Day 20 – New


New clothes for the children, gifts for family and cleaning and organising the house from top to bottom, seems like my thoughts are starting to turn to Eid.  I will try and make the most of the last asharah (third) of Ramadan as it is going so quickly insh’Allah.  I used to have all of my Eid preparations done before Ramadan, but for the past few years, particularly since the arrival of my youngest child I have been less organised, so insh’Allah in between fasting, worship and trying to catch up on my sleep, I better get my Eid shopping done.

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