Sahur, Sleep & Such

We are in the final week of Ramadhan for this year and I am starting to really appreciate this Holy Month.

It is my spiritual boot camp and I hope to keep this up for the rest of the year/life.

My daily schedule is slightly altered, as with most fasting mums.

3 am: Wake up, freshen up, cook rice, reheat beef curry/rendang, prepare and cook vegetables, serve meal with hot drink, Evian and dates. "The best Sahur for the Believers is dates." [Abu Dawud, Al-Baihaqi and Ibn Hibban].

 

As for me, I pray hard Bean stays asleep, haha!

3.45 am: Wake The Other Half up for a hot meal. He does not complain about the lack of variety in our Sahur meals (lucky me!). "Take Sahur as it is a blessing." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

4.30 am: Done with eating, we load up the dishwasher, continue drinking water. "Eating Sahur is blessed. Do not neglect it even if you take a gulp of water." [Ibn Hibban]. Shower and get ready for Fajr/Subh prayers.

5.30 am: Stop all consumption, start of intention to fast for the day, and this largely is a coordination matter in my household, just upon day break. "Eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes his call to prayer. He does not make it until the break of dawn." [Al-Bukhari]. 

5.45 am: Prayers (or breastfeeding Bean). I am constantly working on my Subh! It is much easier for The Other Half, and I "envy" him. 

6.30 am: The Little Girl wakes up for the day. School preparations on weekdays, otherwise she sleeps in on weekends. 

By this time, I am ready to collapse back to bed. The reality is I have school run. I count my blessings because thousands of other working mums have a full time-demanding job to go to! Salute to you ladies, you know who you are, and you know I admire your stamina!

Start of sleep-deprivation report:

I usually get to bed quite late, against my will *sad face* Bean has been having some sniffles and I count myself lucky/super blessed if I can survive on very short nap between 2 and 3 am. I try to sleep by 10 pm as soon as both kids go to bed. Unfortunately, they are not clockwork and sometimes their circadian rhythm or schedule does not work in my favour.

Yes, I nap. Not even sleep. 

After sending The Little Girl to school, I feel so sleepy. Honestly, I am so protected by Allah swt to have made it back home alive without any accidents. MasyaAllah!

By the time I get home around 9.30 am, I choose to ignore the housework and try to nap until 11.30 am. However, I cannot be ignoring my duties every single day, so I have days when I have to at least try to do some laundry or vacuuming. Or groceries, which is in itself equivalent to going to the gym and lift weights.

Bean then comes home and sometimes he will nap at 1 pm, and I gladly join him! This is when I ask The Other Half to help with the afternoon school run so that I can enjoy that 2 hour nap. 

Total nap: 6 hours per day. Alhamdulillah!

Mood: Short fuse and forgetful. Luckily Ramadhan comes to improve/alter that to patience and rememberance of Allah swt, which is a powerful physical, mind and heart boot camp. SubhanAllah. 

End of sleep-deprivation report.

How has Ramadhan changed you this year? Please do share.