Heat, Hectic Days, and Hanging On
Week three?! Like, slow down please! Ramadan is moving like it’s late for an appointment — absolutely sprinting through the month while the rest of us are just trying to keep up.
Of course, Cape Town chose this week to hit us with the mother of all heatwaves. Fasting through that felt like the difficulty level got bumped up without warning.
All I (and I’m sure most others) wanted was cold fruit, ice water, shade, and aircon. Cooking? If it couldn’t be tossed into the air fryer, it wasn’t happening.
News That Weighs Heavy
In the middle of the heat and the routine of the week, we got some difficult news. I won’t unpack the details here, but hearing it was… heavy. Still processing to be honest.
There’s something about receiving difficult news during Ramadan that makes it land differently. It hurts, but the month also wraps you in a soft cushion of sabr. I’ve been praying through it, as one does, and letting the overwhelm move through me gently.
Work, Renovations, and Paint Fumes (Yes, Really)
Work didn’t slow down either — more client presentations, more talking while fasting, more mental gymnastics. Presenting during Ramadan should be classified as a cardio workout, don’t you think?
On top of all this, the office is being renovated. Fresh paint everywhere. Paint fumes everywhere. Fasting + paint fumes = a kind of lightheadedness I wouldn’t recommend. Also the aircon on our floor is broken. In a heatwave. Torture!
Family Moments
One of the highlights of week three? We went to my aunt and uncle’s place for iftar last weekend, and being surrounded by family — familiar voices, laughter, warmth, the sounds of kids playing and laughing — was wonderful.
Keeping Meals Simple
Food this week was more about hydration than anything else. Cold fruit, litres of water, simple air fryer meals. Warm, elaborate dishes just weren’t an option — the heat said “absolutely not.”
The Last Ten Nights
And somehow we’re in the last ten nights. The nights that hold their own kind of beauty.
Being in them while feeling exhausted and stretched thin wasn’t what I imagined — but maybe that’s the point. Ramadan isn’t only for the perfectly composed versions of ourselves. Showing up tired, overwhelmed, and still trying? That’s worship too.
May every step we take in these nights be accepted, and may whatever we’re praying for quietly in our hearts find its way to us, Ameen.
How has your week three been? Chaotic? Calm? Somewhere in between?
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