I Need a Do-Over

As I sit here in the parking lot waiting for Kate’s art class to finish, I realize that it has been a week since Arafat.

This holiday has always been a lesser celebrated occasion in my family, I believe, because we don’t have extended family to feast with living nearby. At my last halaka, Aunt Fay explained that Arafat, and Eid ul Adha was the greater of the two holidays, and it was to be celebrated over four days.

In my family, we do not give gifts on Eid ul Adha but spend time hanging out together and eating at a restaurant. We usually pick an activity to do after Eid prayers, and if the day falls on a school day, Mr. Fox is excused from attending that day.

This was the first Eid in a few years (in my spotty memory) that Khaled was able to attend Eid prayers with us. It was neat to see the children teach him our holiday routine.

We were able to spend the entire day together and went exploring Greenfield Village on the grounds of the Henry Ford Museum. It was a beautiful day out and we were amazed at the things going on there that we never knew about.

So, why do I need a do-over after such a beautiful holiday? Well, on Wednesday when the ladies returned back to school, they promptly reported to us that Eid ul Adha is in fact a gift giving holiday. All of their friends got Eid gifts and they didn’t. Then they spent the next 3 days wrapping Halloween candy as gifts and putting ‘Happy Eid’ notes on them.

I feel like I have failed in fulfilling their holiday expectations, even though we celebrated this Eid much like every other year.

So, if I could just turn back the clock, say, a week or so, and somehow come up with a plan to make this Eid different from all the other holidays, and at the same time make it more celebratory in their eyes. I would. I have a year now to figure this out, because unlike Mr. Fox, the ladies have very specific ideas on what the Eid should look like.