Shabnam Moghul

Although I love and am thankful for every day, my favourite day is Friday. As well as getting me closer to the weekend for a lie in, it also means waking up to one of the sacred days in Islam. When I wake up very early on a Friday morning to prepare the children for school, I breathe a grateful sigh of relief that I can sleep a little longer tomorrow. I don’t have to wake up every two to three hours wondering if I’ve missed the alarm. I’m able to sleep through the night safe in the knowledge that we won’t be late for school. I can wake up a little later and do chores in a more relaxed manner.
Anyway, coming back to Friday! After dropping my primary schooler off at school, I walk slowly home taking in the sights and smells of nature. The freshly mowed smell of the damp green grass. I inhale the fresh, cold air around me. My mind becomes almost immediately calmer. In the few minutes it takes me to walk home, I gather my thoughts about what I need to do for the rest of the day. When I come home, I laze for a few minutes in front of the fan heater, even if I’m not cold. This is surely a habit I should wean myself off! After a few minutes, I will gather up all the things I need for my shower and take a long hot bath to wash away my aches in my muscles and round up my thoughts about the day ahead. Getting out, I’m immediately hit by how nippy it is outside of the bathroom. Of course I find myself soaking up the warmth of the fan heater once more!

Soon it is time for the Friday prayer. I pray slowly and calmly while trying to remain as focused as possible. I am conversing with my creator, after all. Once I am done, I raise my folded hands in hope to ask my creator for all the desires of my heart. I finish up by reading from the Holy Qur’an. I feel a sense of fulfilment, a happiness high!
Roughly a couple of hours later, the children return from school. They are exhausted from a busy week of early starts, ready for the extra sleep tomorrow. They are also raring go for the weekend.

But of course, it is still Friday. They still need to shower, and I also have to wash the school uniform. I start by instructing the older children to go and get a shower.

I grab all the white uniform – shirts and socks. I get a brush and some Fairy Liquid and scrub the collars and cuffs of the shirts. Then I spray Elbow Grease spray on them and give it five to ten minutes to do it’s job. After giving it ample time, I add Ace Gentle Bleach for whites in the draw. I put the washing machine on for the quickest spin which is 29 minutes after the 5 minute hand-wash of course. After a little more than 29 minutes, the washing machine signals the end of its cycle with a little jingle. I put detergent into the draw and put it on for a longer wash to get the chemicals out properly and give the whites a final wash. The machine jingles as it exceeds the one hour and eleven minutes it was meant to take. The rest of the school uniform goes in for either 29 minutes or one hour and eleven minutes depending on the dirtiest of the clothes .

By now, it is time for a bath for my primary schooler, who I will help for a few years yet.

Everyone freshened up, the evening is finished off with listening to the 18th verse of the Holy Qur’an “The Cave”. I do my evening prayers and go to bed in anticipation of a full night of restful sleep.

However, I’m reminded I have children! A typical Saturday realistically starts by being woken up by a child hovering over me asking “Mummy, mummy. When are you getting up? What’s for breakfast?” “Whatever you make for yourself.” I croak defeated. It happens two more times before I give up on the extra sleep and reluctantly start my day.