So bittersweet!

To say good bye to Ramadan, but to have your heart swell with the joy of Eid!

A long time ago my older sister, her husband (at the time) and my husband and me, had an Eid greeting card business.

And it was my job to come up with the jingles inside.

One of my favourites was:

After every hardship there is ease

And after Ramadan there is Eid.

Our business went defunct a long time ago, but it’s funny because a few years ago, I received an Eid card–completely different! And it had my little jingle inside.

At first I was annoyed that I’d been ripped off.

(Muslims are notorious for violating copyright!)

Then I thought, “Hey, I don’t plan to become a jingle writer anyway, and I’ll still be rewarded for anyone who finds enjoyment in that sentiment.”

But then I wrote that so long ago.

In the past few years Ramadan has changed so much for me.

It’s not really a ‘hardship’ any more.

Oh it can be hard, no doubt about it, but something so much greater opens up when you close your mouth from food and drink for the sake of God!

My heart is just so full, swelling like it’s ready to burst with all the joy and goodness!

I was corresponding with a good friend of mine and she is a lady of faith, though a different faith, and she understood exactly what I meant.

Today I immersed myself in preparations for Eid.

I made two lasagnes, cooked six pounds of beef in a curry sauce to make biryani in the morning, made a chocolate cake with coffee icing, and 36 cheesecake cupcakes with dollops of cherry pie filling on top, and finally made about forty pineapple tarts, individually folding them, forking them and painting them with egg wash before baking!

And now, at midnight, I have to iron my new Eid suit and go to sleep to wake up by 7:30 in the morning!

I’m beat…

But happy!

Eid Mubarak to one and all…

And that means Eid Blessings.