Ramadan Kareem :)

Ramadan is here! The time of fasting, shorter working hours, extra prayers, excess food, loads of gatherings with friends and family, and the occassional lack of sleep. In the past, Ramadan used to be alot more family oriented for me since we used to all gather at my grandparents house to have iftar. Since they passed away, we usually just have iftar together at home. At that time, this was not really uneventful since we used to always have lunch together anyway...but now, with 2 brothers going to university at different times, and me going to work it has become very rare for us to have a meal together on one table. I look forward to that in Ramadan for sure. But, with my dad working in Saudi, we are always minus one very important person. My dad used to be the one to wake me up from may nap to have iftar, he used to wake us up at 3am to have sohor together, and over the iftar table would make us listen to the radio with the Ramadan riddles and the like as we ate. He has been working in Saudi for 3-4 years now so we always miss his presense around the iftar table. Every year, this is the time where we really miss my dad and he misses us. But, he manages to make it here for the last week of Ramadan. Other than the chance to eat with my family, I started this Ramadan tradition a few years back where I invite my friends over for a Ramadan dish party. Its a day my mum dreads since I ALWAYS over invite haha but she enjoys it at the end. What's interesting about it is every year the group dynamic is different...it got me thinking about how things change. Who used to be close and now isnt so much, who was in egypt and now lives abroad, who used to be an acquiantence and is now a close friend, who attended all dish parties and is still as close now as they ever were. It's strange how things change from one year to the next, and its also strange how some things always stay the same :) Happy Ramadan to everyone, and I hope you are all surrounded by people you love. Don't forget to smile and watch the belly with the Ramadan food!