Ramadan

Today is the 2nd day of Ramadan, the fasting month for the Muslims. The boys did great yesterday,  they didn't budge at all about completing their fast. I did tell them that since they're still young and not fully obligated to fast, after a certain time in the afternoon, they could break their fast if they couldn't keep up but they're pretty strong. I think the weather helps a lot. Despite the fasting duration here is much longer compared to Hawaii and Malaysia, it's cooler and we feel less dehydrated. Having Sahur (meal taken shortly before the break of dawn to start a day of fasting) is extremely important. Delaying the meal as far as possible in order to take it just before dawn is recommended as it is beneficial from both the health and practical points of view.

To me, it's always a special month, apart from the religious obligation (abstaining oneself from eating, drinking and several other  things from the breaking of dawn till setting of the sun), it's also a month that makes me want to fine-tune my spiritual life better than other months. Setting aside the technical part of this third "pillar" of Islam, I just feel more relax, probably due to lack of preoccupation with the satisfaction of bodily appetites. Family gathering with my parents and siblings during Iftar meal (breaking fast after sunset) is something that I always look forward to. Being so far away now makes me a little bit sad not being able to join the family. Now as a mother, I try my best to help the boys to kindle that special feeling that I always have, the anticipation that comes with the arrival of the holy month. Not forgetting the Ramadan food  bazaar, albeit a little bit irony, is nothing like other markets with rows of stalls selling endless array of food and drinks for breaking of fast. I don't really know about other countries, but in Malaysia, it's like having a nation-wide, month-long, food carnival. And then, at night, there's this special prayer, either done alone or at the mosques, called Terawih.  The mosques in towns and villages become lively and filled to the brim with congregations during the prayer and  to join them is an experience on its own.

Selamat menjalani ibadah puasa bagi semua umat Islam. Ramadan Mubarak.