See you in a week

It was my last week at the care home this week and so I have promised some of the people I met there to come back next week just for a coffee. As much as I like new challenges, I simply struggle with endings. And for the therapy work that’s an area I need to have a solid preparation for. But something someone elderly said to me astonished me: “See you in a week is not something we like to hear out here” (meaning: in a week we might not even be alive anymore). It was so honest, so open. I managed to build some really strong relationships there through our mind games and reminiscence activities but that’s it. This was my last week. The memories and learnings from my work will remain and I am really grateful for those. It’s so humbling to work with people who have a very grounded view of life and death. And it is exactly death that I’m going to study in autumn, so this ending is a great beginning too. Just of a different journey.