Then I checked my phone. Like many people, I keep it on silent unless I'm expecting a call, so I missed a called from my youngest daughter. Instead she left a text message. It read:
"your hajj packgat came" (sic)
I burst out crying. So much so that my other daughter came forward and said, "What's wrong?!" I couldn't speak. I just showed her the text message and cried and hugged her. To her credit, she did manage to say congratulations before finishing cleaning. As I sped off toward Highway 80, I actually prayed that I would not have an accident. Because I really do want to make the hajj, and not just get confirmation that I was approved.
When I posted my news on Twitter and Facebook, I got lots of nice responses from friends, some last-minute advice, and then of course the requests to "pray for me." I also had one of my pre-hajj talks with my shaykh, who also gave me a list of do, persons to pray for, and some important reminders about etiquette. So I think about the Joan Osborn song.
What would you ask, if you had just one question?
I've thought about it before. And I've thought about it a lot. Still nothing comes to mind just yet. Last year, when a friend of mine who lives in Madinah solicited prayers from people before her fourth or fifth hajj, (because, as she said, "It really works"), I asked for a house by the beach with the mortgage already paid! I mean, if you're going to ask, might as well be specific, right? Well, you ought to know how I feel about the idea of God accepting requisition lists.
I also think about the woman in Ramadan who said, never mind about remembering, because when you are on Mt. Arafat, and you hold up your hands in supplication, it is like a book opens up in them and you remember. Even a more secular-type friend said she remembered to make du'a for all of us at Arafat. Well, I may surely remember a lot, but I'm taking notes too. I don't think God would mind a cheat sheet.
Still I hope at the moment that I really, really think of one question that I would never ask from any mortal soul. More than that, I hope I understand what the answer is.
November 4, 2010—The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Humans
Three days until departure. Of course my sleep is askew. This would not be recommended, except for jet lag. I am not completely reversing my pattern like for Indonesia; what I have is a ten-hour time difference (Makkah is ahead by ten hours). This means getting up naturally in the early morning for fajr prayer is probably not going to happen—especially since I want to be at the mosque ahead of the prayer proper.
I didn't mention any of the details of this fantastic hajj package, so let's see what the big deal is. I was not 100 percent convinced that all systems would be go until I had my passport in my hand and could see that visa. The rest of the contents might be described rather succinctly-except for the one thing that made my plans radically altered. The original flight itinerary, which I already had printed out, has been changed. Instead of arriving in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at around 9:30 p.m., I arrive around 7:00 p.m. The travel agent said this change was required from the Saudi end; thus my flight into Jeddah from Paris had to be changed. But in order to make this two-hour adjustment, I lost my direct flight to Paris. The difference is, instead of leaving in the evening on Sunday, my departure time is 8:45 a.m.
Not such a big deal ordinarily, but remember, I have to bathe, make my intentions, and take up ihram at some point before I arrive in Jeddah. The best times are supposed to be immediately after one of the five prayers. As it stands, in order to clear security, I leave my house for the airport in San Francisco before the time for fajr prayer is even started. This also disrupts my plans for how to get to the airport. I don't want to leave my car there for 3 weeks. I had planned to take my bags on Saturday and leave them with a friend who lives really close to the airport. Then with a couple of daylight hours on that last day, I could make my way to her house and not have to rush to the airport.
At the moment, I'm not certain how I will get to the airport: family, friends, public transportation, or taxi. I only know I want to leave my car in my own garage. In case you're wondering, neither my daughter who lives with me nor her husband know how to drive or have a license. The other daughter is already 40 minutes away, and that early hour presents a problem with a new baby even if they volunteer. Anyway,
I'll figure out something.
As for the other things in the package, let's see, there was another hajj book. By that I mean, a small guidebook explaining the rituals and offering information about recommended du'a at the various sites. Some of the details here differ from ones I have already reviewed. But then, these are details; the generic are standard. For example, this one contains a lot more prayers. There goes the benefit of memorizing from one book in the first place.
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