Welcome to Ramadan

Phew.... It was a very busy weekend. With Ramadan at our doorstep, we didn't want to postpone the cleaning again. Chose Friday for the Ramadan shopping and Saturday for the cleaning. We didn't want to break the cleaning process in between, so we thought it would be better to do it on Saturday, 'coz we had Jumua prayers on Friday.

Back in India, we used to do the cleaning on Sha'abaan 15th. Its a ritual over there. Some people fast on that day, but I think that's against Prophet's (PBUH) sunnah. People clean their houses, clothes and cooking utensils and they stack the food needed for Ramadan. In remote villages, they make rice flour, corriander powder, chilly powder etc themselves. So, welcoming ramadan is a week long festival.

We started our shopping after lunch. Shopping during evenings on weekend was out of question, shoppers will be hustling over the place. So we chose a less busy time, just after lunch. You don't have to remind yourself  its ramadan, you will see it all over the place. 'Ramadan Kareem' boards hang everywhere, in parks, mosques and all public places. Ads starting with 'its Ramadan...' or 'try your luck in Ramadan...' or 'Welcome Ramadana with....' are all over the places. At the shop, there were special 'Ramadan' offer, 'Ramadan' snacks and 'Ramadan' food court. I wanted to take a ride through those special 'Ramadan' places, but due to the lack of time, Hubby refused with a big NO. Dates and drinks decorated the entrance of the shop.  Aisha was excited when she saw the colorful l-e-ds flashing and laser light dancing inside the shop. With the Ramdan so much consumerized, we didn't have to ponder over what to buy and were able to make a quick shopping. As usual, Aisha became very annoyed in her stroller by the end of the shopping. 

Saturday began earlier than any weekend begins. Started with the kitchen, where we had to clean so many shelves, throw away expired food items and change old containers with new ones etc etc. We took turns in cleaning, me and hubby doing the cleaning while hubby's brother S baby sitting Aisha, then S and hubby cleaning while me tending Aisha, and then me and S cleaning while hubby looks after Aisha. Each time I sit with I Aisha, I thought cleaning was better and when I started cleaning, I thought looking after Aisha was better. The other shore always felt greener. Aisha was thrilled, with the home no more baby proof. She slithered all around the place, and the baby sitter had a tough time! Cleaning, washing, sweeping and moping... (I'm not a Cinderella!), by noon everyone was very tired and hungry, although we had snacks in between. We ordered a chicken biriyani (cooking was already banned on cleaning day) and dug into it. S and hubby took a long nap after that, but I had much trouble to put Aisha to sleep, as she never sleeps during those hours. By 4 o'clock, she too fell asleep, after which I slept.

I thought Ramadan would arrive on Sunday, after all the work, I was like, eager to welcome Ramadan, but the night news said it would be on Monday. Well, it seems I've one more day to do the finishing works for welcoming Ramadan. Priority for washing the clothes. With much thought about fasting while lactating, I've decided to fast. I pray that everything goes fine for me and Aisha. Ameen.