slip-sliding away…..

In a few days’ time, we’ll welcome the Islamic new year – which is based on the lunar calendar (as opposed to the solar-based Gregorian calendar that most of the world is used to). This milestone has never really felt ‘new’ to me, because I tend to consider the end of Ramadaan as the start of my new personal cycle.

But this time, it’s different.

Closer to normal

Here in South Africa, we’ve been under lockdown for roughly five months now. But, starting today, our restrictions have eased to Level 2 (down from Level 5 when this all started) – with our infection peak soon to be over, insha-Allah. My city – once the epicentre of the virus in South Africa – is now seeing declining numbers, with hospitals being less stressed, and general optimism filtering through.

For a few months already, we’ve been able to get out and hike, exercise without ridiculous curfews (previously 6 to 9 a.m. only), and go about our shopping more or less as needed (unlike the early lockdown, which was among the most extreme in the world – with only food, toiletries, and medical items permitted to be sold). I still don’t like the masks we have to wear, but it’s feeling less like a zombie movie in public, so I suppose I’m used to the ‘new normal’.

Starting this week, the kids are back at school for most of the week. Their class numbers are small, and their school is very much on top of the safety regulations – which makes it far less of a worry compared to other schools which have greater risks. It’s also a huge psychological lift – having them out of the house. Even though we love them, absence makes the heart grow fonder. And, as we learnt in these months, virtual homeschooling makes the blood pressure go up, unfortunately.

So, it’s a welcome break – even though it’s just a few hours per day.

The timing of that just falls in line with what seems like the general mood in the world. One of easing – from travel restrictions falling to football seasons finishing (although, for Manchester United fans, it ended one game too early after last night’s result).

Abundance

We’ve had good Winter rains this year, thank God, which has pushed our dam levels up beyond 80% (and still rising)…a welcome level of stability, given that we experienced our worst drought in a century just two years ago, with levels dropping below 20% and severe water rationing on the cards. We did hit a mid-Winter halt to the rain – just like last year – but thankfully, it started flowing again in August, and this season of abundance just keeps giving…Alhamdullilah.

Spring is just around the corner, too, adding to the sense of renewal and fresh starts.

Personally, I’m still working from home – possibly for the rest of the year – which suits me just fine, especially with the kids at school (because it’s just so much easier to focus). And new projects have injected a bit of energy into my working time, after a long lull which matched my general mood about the tedium of all these months of fear and limitation.

Writing projects

After a rich vein of inspiration in the early months, my writing has sort of dried up – which is totally fine with me, because I resolved to not force things (though I am supposed to be maintaining a habit of just a little writing every day…even if it’s just journaling).

But I am excited to be compiling a short collection of pandemic-inspired material by various writers, which I hope will be out (free, of course) within the next month. 15 writers, 16 poems and reflections, and – hopefully – a wonderful book that captures the reality (both bad and good) of what this pandemic has brought us.

Along with that, I finally made a start on an updated version of my Hajj Chronicles project – which was a 30-post long series I compiled into an e-book years ago. I’m aiming to redo the content in an upgraded edition which, insha-Allah, will be out in time for next year’s Hajj.

I’ve put my own next collection on hold, and don’t think I’ll get back to it for a long, long while. Which is fine, really, because I think it would benefit from the time and breathing space. And I don’t really know if there’s even demand for it anyway (which is part of another rambling on self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which I may tell you about later).

So, all in all, it’s just a positive time, where I feel ready to embark on a new, brighter chapter of life – while hopefully retaining the lessons and positives from the past five months.

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