Last Days of Ramadan

Just a few more days of fasting left to go – though I will have to make up about 12 days. I’m going to be honest, this is rough. I am falling over with sleep at work. It will be nice to once again be allowed to drink caffeine during the day, I’m sure it would help! The funny thing is that it is not even the food I miss so much as sleep. One has to wake up in the morning to eat breakfast and say prayers. And even though I manage to do the whole thing in ½ hour, its still an interruption of sleep and I’m dragging during the day.

I wonder also if this lack of food has made me less patient to deal with people. Right now, typing this at work and one of the guys is boosting about all his travels, oh joy, a braggart, than I also have snarky people in my life. How does one deal with a snarky person - someone making sarcastic comments under their breath, etc?

Breaking news – Crown princess Victoria of Sweden is expecting her first child! Babies, babies everywhere!

Grab Bag

Lately Momma and baby have been very clingy to each other – is that normal? I sometimes worry, what if something happens to me, who will protect and love my baby like I do? This has prompted a change in my eating habits, must take care of myself for baby.

Position open in my department here at non-descript airlines and the hiring manager has kept me appraised of some of the better candidates (alright not so much appraised as I have been noisy and asked). One candidate had a phone interview, did well and they wanted to bring her in for elevated interviews. Now the phone number doesn’t work or the applicant is not calling back. Really, what is wrong with people? You complain about being unemployed and than when you get an opportunity, you can’t be bothered to pick up the phone, aye! If you are not interested, just say so, plenty of other people happy to take the job.

Still get time to read? Why, yes I do! Darla D and I have talked about this, if reading is a priority, you will make the time. I dislike the excuse by non-readers for their lack of picking up a book by saying, “oh I’m so busy." I have a six month old baby and work a full time job and I still make time, even if its only five minutes. Certainly I don’t get through books as fast I use too, but I haven’t given them up either! Non-readers stop pretending you are a reader and just admit, “I don’t like reading.”

Native Arizonians, not very nice about making new friends, I am coming to find out. Sigh.

Somalia Famine

Second week into the holy month of fasting and I’m still going strong (though to be honest, I have not fasted everyday, I want to make sure I don’t fall sick).

One of the daily rituals baby and I do after returning from the daycare and getting situated at home, is to watch the national evening news. I prefer NBC’s Brian Williams (hey if you are going to watch the news might as well do it with some eye candy). In this month of fasting, the one story that always strikes me is the on-going Somalia famine. I am haunted by the stories of mothers leaving their dying children on the side of the road, as they walk away the child staring at them silently; this breaks my heart. What tragic circumstances lead a mother to do that, I can’t even let my little one cry for a few seconds. I am not passing judgment, just stating that it is completely out of my realm of experiences.

News reports say that collectively we have given less to these victims than to those suffering from the tsunami and the Haiti earthquake. Why is that? Is one disaster more worthy of help than another? I don’t think people are maliciously NOT giving but I do wonder if there is a bit of donor fatigue when it comes to Africa. Let’s face it, there is always a need in Africa. Is something in the back of people’s minds saying, “not again?” I know upon initially hearing of the famine I flashed back to the 1980’s and the Live Aid concerts – so much money was raised and yet we could not avoid another famine, what is the point?

Irregardless, as I break my fast, I knew I had to give, not only are we Muslims encouraged to give in Ramadan but there is much spiritual reward to be had; for example yesterday I was feeding baby her oatmeal cereal and I thought, “my God, how a baby in Somalia could use this little bowlful so much right now.” I prayed that my donation to Doctors without Borders would make that possible.

I implore you to consider donating to a charity helping out the Somalia famine victims - $5 goes a long way, maybe think of it as a way of sharing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with your Muslim friends (like me!).

Doctors Without Borders

Edesia, one of the makers of Plumpy'nut®, a life-saving nutrient, has set up a donation page to allow people to specifically donate the product to children in Horn of Africa

International Rescue Committee (IRC)

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

CARE

World Vision's Horn of Africa response

UNICEF

Save the Children You can donate online or text SURVIVE to 20222 to donate $10 (Standard message rates apply). Legal disclosure: www.savethechildren.org/legaldisclosure

UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)

MercyCorps

Oxfam America

Ramadan Mubarak!

The holy month of Ramadan is upon us! On the surface one can see it’s a month of fasting all day, taking in no food or liquids from sunrise to sunset. These acts last for one whole month. But delve further and realize that it is about learning self-restraint, submitting to God and gaining patience and temperance.

The latter are, of course, the higher goals of this month, but we can see that largely, many Muslims fail to achieve. I am just as guilty. Every year I vow to become more patient and while I do think I’ve made some head-way, there is definitely much more room to grow! There should be more inner-reflection by all Muslims, during this holy month but what I see more often, sadly, is judgment of others and preening of religious self-importance.

Ramadan 2011 is going to be particularly difficult for me and already I have decided that I won’t be able to do all 30 days. Living so far from family, I can’t afford to get sick, there is only the husband and I, to take care of baby. [I had food poisoning about a month ago and it was awful, baby could not understand why momma couldn’t pick her up and play]. As it is, I’ve fasted two days and I’m falling over with sleep exhaustion. It doesn’t help that just as the month of fasting begins, baby starts to get her teeth (so she is not sleeping through the night, sometimes waking up for three hours at a stretch!).

Right, my prayer for this holy month is, “oh Allah, may this month easy, help me to be a good mother, wife and daughter and may your light and blessings shine on me and my loved ones forever.”