This article is the follow-up to Sr. Nancy’s previous article, “Grieving Their Home”, which focused on what grieving means to sisters. That article first appeared in the June issue of the RCRI News in Brief.
So, if it will take some time for our sisters to feel “at home” in their new space, how might we offer helpful accompaniment along the way? Here are some implications that seem to flow from Atlee’s work and three suggestions for care givers to consider.
1. Because the period of time leading up to helping an older sister move into a new space is typically filled with activities (e.g. helping them decide what to take versus what to get rid of, choices about what to pack, the selection of paint and carpet color, etc.), the period after the move is an important time to re-establish personal connections through conversation. These are the same kinds of conversations that took place before THE MOVE and involve the sister talking about herself now.