The diary game: Ramadan Days: Work in the Orchard and an Emotional Goodbye

We are moving toward the most auspicious month, Ramadan. In just a few days—almost a week now—it will come to an end. It is quite emotional for Muslims all over the world, as it is one of the months we wait for throughout the entire year, and every one of us wishes that this month could last longer. Anyway, the only way we can truly show our love for this month is by how sincerely we stick to its principles and how strongly we follow them.

I woke up very early in the morning at around 4:30 AM. After performing ablution to purify myself and prepare for the morning prayers, I had the pre-dawn meal called Sehri before the prayers. With every passing day, as we move closer to the summer solstice, the time of sunrise shifts earlier, and because of that we need to wake up earlier with each passing day of Ramadan.

After finishing the meal, I went to the mosque to offer the prayers. When I returned home, I went back to bed to get some more rest. While I was sleeping, my mother woke me up after my uncle had asked her to send me along with them to our orchard. We had to spray horticultural mineral oil there. I was quite hesitant at first, but I had no choice and eventually left with my uncles.

After reaching the orchard, I started working, and once we finished spraying the mineral oil in our orchard, my uncle and I returned home. It was already afternoon by the time we finished the work. When I reached home, my father asked me to bring some fertilizers from a local dealer. Since I had a few other errands to do as well, I set off toward the nearby town.

On my way, I saw my friend walking toward the town. I stopped and called him, and he was quite excited to see me since he was heading in the same direction. We enjoyed our time together during the journey. After reaching the town, I offered the afternoon prayers. Then I went to get a haircut. After that, I bought fertilizers from a dealer whom my friend knew well, as they had purchased fertilizers from him just a couple of days earlier. It turned out that the dealer was also a distant relative of ours.

Now it was time to return home with the fertilizers. I had to drive a little slowly because the vehicle was carrying a heavy load. After reaching home, before I could even unload the fertilizers, I went inside as I was very tired and fasting. I fell asleep for about an hour. After waking up, I refreshed myself and started making arrangements for breaking the fast. I brought fruits and prepared a few other edible items that are quite typical during the days of Ramadan.

At the time of breaking the fast, I first had my iftar and then offered the evening prayers. After that, I had an early dinner because I needed to take my grandmother back to her home. She had stayed with us for almost two months, and since the festival of Eid was approaching, she wanted to celebrate it with her family at her place.

My brother and I accompanied our grandmother to her home. It was quite an emotional farewell. After staying there for about an hour, we returned home. Upon reaching home, I went straight to bed so that I could wake up early again the next morning.