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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

Palo-Santo-Candles

The Wait for Double G: A Tribute to Mom

May 02, 2021 05:20PM ● By Nicole Zornitzer

I realized today that I have been waiting

Waiting to feel whole again

Waiting for the tears to stop falling

Waiting in the darkness for the light to seep through the crack of my soul

I engulf myself in your blanket to feel your embrace


I rest my head on your pillow to smell you


I stand at the kitchen sink as water spills through my fingers, seeing you standing right there doing the same


I even wear your sneakers, take them for walks around the paths you had hoped to walk 

I make breakfast for myself using your pots and pans and can taste my ancestor’s energy in each bite I take of the food I prepare and remember the love you poured into your cooking


I am surrounded by your belongings and try to find my own belonging in this lonely, timeless place that I am clawing my way out of

Then, it hits me like a crashing wave; what am I actually waiting for?


Time stands still when we grieve, loneliness is overwhelming, and pain is an ever-constant enemy in the soul


I realize that I will find no closure when seeking it

What do I need? I ask myself

Then, I hear your quiet words whispered in my mind’s eye


Time


Time will provide me with more time


Patience, something that has never been my strong suite, will need to become a concept I embrace in this hollowness 

Your death was unfair and for all purposes cruel and was certainly not the way you were to leave this world; yet here we are


I am angry at this “universe” that I have put so much faith into, yet time and time again fails me

Is the glass really half full?


I am tired, tired of waiting, tired of hoping, tired of the struggle

Then, I feel you surround me with a love so strong that brings me back 

Back to the now, back to this life, back to this day

Back to what keeps me striving to heal and show up as my best self; J & L

Back to the silent one, the one who encourages me, my constant, the one who cherishes me, if I allow; Or decide; the wait is over


Instead, I will allow time to provide me the courage to experience more time

I will find you in the air, I will feel you in the ocean, I will bicycle thousands of miles for you, I will look to the birds and seek your merry eyes, I will constantly find the signs that we discussed 


I will find my will

I will rise

And I will fall again

However, I will accept that you are guiding me with a love that only a mother can provide

The wait for Double G


Nicole Zornitzer, ERYT 1000, is a yoga therapist and founder of Niyama Yoga & Wellness Shala, located in Randolph, New Jersey, and Upper Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey. NiyamaYogaShala.com.








In-Print Local Insights May 2021
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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