Suhoor Comes Early

Hello, my friends.  How’s your Ramadan going?  Mine is very different this year.  My son, Mr. Fox, has entered the age of mandatory fasting this year, and is no longer practicing.  This means that it is not optional for him to get up and have Suhoor (the morning meal prior to fasting.)

I am struggling with this on so many levels.  First, because I do not fast, I feel guilty that my baby is going almost 17 hours without food or drink.  I feel he is still so young to have the weight of this responsibility on his shoulders.  I am proud of the way he is accepting this challenge, with all the maturity and grace you seldom find in someone his age.  I am at peace when I see that he is not being hurt by his fast, but he is growing stronger mentally and emotionally.

But, my baby is now fasting the whole day.  So I get up 45 minutes before Fajr and make him breakfast so he will have time to eat, pray and go back to bed for a few more hours.

Today, he was not able to finish his plate.  He has not found the balance of how much to eat at night so that he will be able to eat again just 7 hours later.  This afternoon, he mentioned that he wished that he had tried to eat and drink more this morning because he is feeling so very tired today.

I asked him how many hours in total he was sleeping, and if it had been continuous sleep, it might have been enough.  But because I wake him to eat in the morning, his sleep is disturbed and he is not getting the full amount of rest he needs.

The ladies are also having a difficult time adjusting to the new schedules.  We eat our dinner, and then 2 hours later I am expecting them to go to bed.  I need to have some quiet time with Khaled, and then sleep enough to be able to wake 4 hours later.  They are not able to sleep so soon after eating, and they are waking too early in the morning to be fully rested.

Today, the exhaustion as caught up with everyone and we decided to make napping mandatory today, like when they were toddlers.  The phones are turned off, they are all in separate rooms with the curtains drawn.  The house is silent save for the clicking of my keyboard and the whispers from the television in the lower level where Khaled naps in front of the TV.  Kate is having a hard time settling and I can hear her in my room struggling to find rest.

I am grateful that we do not need to worry about school schedules this Ramadan, and we are more focused on the intention of the fasting and not so much about fitting the fasting into our daily routine.  But tomorrow is Monday, and with it brings work, chores, sports and other activities.

Salaam,

Kristina