a decade of breaking fast

As it usually is with all the arrogant, self-centered people of the world, when doing nothing, you'll start thinking about how time flies by and whatever things have changed around you. Which is exactly what I'm doing right now, arrogance and self-centeredness all intact. As the Muslim month of Ramadhan progresses, I can't help but think how different things were when I was younger (as in, a decade ago) and how things are going on now. Much have been written about Ramadhan bazaars (and the incline in price and decline in tastiness -or quality, if you may- of the things being sold), so I'll just focus on what's happening in my own family. This might not be as interesting a read as Ramadhan bazaars would be but hey, I'm arrogant and self-centered, remember?

I'm from a rather large family of eight children. I've two elder siblings and five younger ones. In my family, the prospect of having a meal (lunch or dinner or whatever) together (that is, all of us sitting on the same table at the same time) is almost non-existent. We just eat whenever we wanted to. So one of the significance of the month of Ramadhan is all of us will be breaking fast at the same time. And we have some kind of a family day each time we break fast. Daily family days are fun. These are the thens and nows of these family days, a decade or so (nearly two decades to be exact) of breaking fast together...

Then: As big families usually do, we talked a lot amongst ourselves. We were never short of conversations and there usually were lots of bickerings. The eldest of my younger brothers would tease the one next in line; calling him a shorty and that particular brother would respond saying "you're not the tallest person in the world!" (for the record, I'm the most vertically challenged amongst my brothers). My two youngest brothers would call each other things like 'untidy' or 'stupid' or 'dirty' or whatever. Being the two youngest, they are the most aggressive in their bickerings and everybody on the table would constantly tell them to stop, and they will for like, two minutes before starting off again. My elder brother (the only elder brother I have) and I would be arguing on who's better looking between the two of us. Of course I always knew that he is and of course we were never serious but hey, you gotta fight for a 'title' right..? The only other people on the table would usually be my younger sister and mother, who would be talking to each other sans the bickering. Needless to say, we had a blast.
Now: Both my elder siblings have married so usually there are less people on the table. My younger brothers have (nearly completely) turned into one-word cyborgs. That is, they'll only answer whatever questions you have with a single word (If you're lucky they'll just nod or shook their heads). I guess teenagers are mostly like that. And they seem to have a whole lot on their minds all the time. Lucky for families they always have this 'comfortable silence' thingy.

Then: There were never enough food on the table. This is not to say that we did not have enough to eat, just that everybody seemed to have a huge appetite all the time. We weren’t that hungry. Just a li’l bit greedy.
Now: Everybody seems to be less passionate about food. We kind of spread it out; we eat after tarawih, while watching tv, etc. It’s a healthier way to enjoy food, albeit a little boring way of doing it.

Then: Whenever we went to the Ramadhan bazaar (which is like, everyday), we bought everything. OK I’m exaggerating. But we bought a lot. GREED :)
Now: We rarely go to Ramadhan bazaars anymore. It’s not like the food is that good anyway. And (surprise! Surprise!) my brothers can actually cook so they make desserts like puddings or marble cake and stuff, which are actually edible. By human beings.

Then: Mother nags.
Now: Mother still nag. But at the same time my mother and I have lots of conversations. And it's pretty cool talking to her. When I was much younger almost always we only have 'conversations' when I did something terribly wrong. And she did most of the talking, which is similar to nagging albeit on a slower pace.

So there, the turn-ons and turn-offs of growing up, from the breaking fast’s point of view. I guess I preferred being a kid when it comes to breaking fast. You simply ask for food and get them. And you can be immature and not feel guilty. And you look forward to doing it (breaking fast, I mean) whereas now it’s just like another process. But we just have to be thankful to God for whatever is given to us. Nowadays I observe my nephews and nieces whenever they're around when breaking fast -an activity which I enjoy- and remember the times long gone.

We just have to be thankful and cherish every moment...