A little deviation from routine

As swiftly as it can, 12 days of fasting have passed. I have been waking up promptly at 4.30 am every single morning. After the early breakfast, which for me and hubby, could be as simple as sandwiches and coffee, especially me, I just couldn’t swallow any rice, I didn’t go back to sleep. It’s just worthless to continue the sleep when I know I have to get ready to work soon. It will jut give me headache to wake up again so soon. Exception is on Sundays off course where time is more at my leisure.

So, I used the quiet uninterrupted moments to clean the kitchen, clear up any mess my children made the night before and get myself ready. In fact I enjoyed the early morning chores and felt like I have a lot accomplished compared to doing work at other times. I could even get to pick and choose what to wear to work. On normal days, I would just blindly grab anything thing that is hanging in the wardrobeThen I woke the kids up before they changed and once everybody rise and shine we set off to our destinations.

I could feel the effect of lack of sleep. If I allow it, I could doze off at my desk at any moment. And work at the office is as stressful as ever, and off course this makes the time flies even faster. Which is to my preference anyway.

Came 4 pm, by hook or by crook, I have to leave the office to avoid the traffic jam which I know would be massive and would start to pack as soon as 4 pm. I don’t want any additional stress especially from the traffic. On my way home, as usual I picked up the kids.

First day I picked them up early, the one most surprised was Fatini. She kept on asking me, repeatedly, why did I fetch her so early? The usual time was normally very very late and all of a sudden it was so early. And kids don’t like sudden changes and wanted explanation. I told her, not sure what to say, “It’s fasting month, I don’t want to be caught in the traffic.” I feel very sure she didn’t understand my reply and maybe wondered at the connection between fasting (which meaning she has not fully grasped yet) with traffic jam, what has one got to do with the other? Anyway, after getting no satisfactory explanation from me, she resigned. She asked again the next day though.

Arriving home, still in my working attire, I would be in the kitchen, applying my speedy skills to prepare for dinner. The kids behave themselves upstairs. Watching TV and sometimes my daughter would sleep for a while.
Emir would sometimes come into the kitchen, looking for me. I know he wanted me upstairs. But sorry sweetie, mommy’s busy.
Then hubby arrived home buying a kuih or two.

We haven’t been going out for the breaking fast even though there’s no lack of invitations either from my hubby or my side of acquaintances. It’s just that I feel it’s such a waste of time to break the fast somewhere ( we used to do that in previous years) and then by the time we got home it would be late, the children would be tired, and I would be extremely bloated and exhausted. I prefer that we break our fast at home in a simple manner and right after we could just rest at home. Then off to sleep. There's one that I plan to bring my kids to, though, which is to break fast with the orphans from one of the orphanages. That will be next week.

Last weekend, taking advantage of the extended weekend, we went back to Kedah. We left in the morning and the journey in the morning was quite comfortable and pleasant. The kids behaved surprisingly well in the car. They were excited to see Tok and Tok Wan. For me I have always enjoyed the visit back to my husband’s hometown.

Once we were there, other siblings started arriving, knowing we were there. As usual, the house was brightened up by cheers, laughters and jokes between cousins, aunties and uncles. We broke our fast over a vast variety of food, since there were many children.

There was also my favourite northern dish as well “lauk daging batang pisang”. You cannot get this outside Kedah, at least I never found it.

On Monday we left Tok and Tok Wan back to their routine and heading back to KL, to our home sweet home.