As a result of my study of Christian Science, I felt no sense of loss or emptiness when my mother passed on recently, just a calm trust that she was going on as God’s dearly beloved daughter. My family has never been very close, but we came together in a warm, loving way at the funeral, and I felt that healing was taking place. Before leaving to fly home after the funeral, I told my sister and dad that whenever they felt ready, I would be happy to come back so we could go through Mom’s personal belongings together.
Sometime later I received a package from my sister. It was filled with odds and ends of my mother’s, mainly photos and knickknacks, but also a few pieces of jewelry, most of which I did not recognize. I phoned my dad to ask him about this, and he told me that my sister had gone ahead and divided up our mother’s belongings as she saw fit. “But what about Mom’s jewelry?” I asked. He told me to check with my sister.
She advised me that she had divided everything evenly, that she did not need to send me anything, but sent what she did “to be kind.” I felt so hurt, angry, confused, and alone. I could not understand how my dad could have allowed my sister to take charge of this, nor could I understand how my sister could be so self-centered and unfair. I told her that there were a few pieces of jewelry that would mean a lot to me because of the sentimental value, but she said that my mother had promised them to her before she passed.
