The Absent Uncle: Just a visit ...

This past weekend I traveled to Minnesota to see my eldest sister (your editor’s aunt). She had recently been hospitalized after breaking a bone in her arm.

In a couple of my previous calls with her, she had mentioned she may need more day to day care than she was getting in her apartment at a local facility. More often than not, that need just seems to come up regardless of thinking about it or not.

My eldest sister is a rock. She and her husband owned and operated a restaurant in Southwest Minnesota (Vesta) for years. Vesta, being a small town, really gravitated around her restaurant. Her early morning cinnamon rolls (made daily), her willingness for the community to just be there, and the clearly outstanding food preparation (I am a bit prejudiced) made her business a success.

I am a bit unclear about the timing of when she sold the business to another family, but she continued to cook for them and for a while, to take care of the elementary school kitchen as well. 

Time moves forward. When she turned 72,  the business had been sold again. She has no issues. She just kept making pies and cinnamon rolls. For the community.

And on that day, when the new owner took over, with no pre-conditioned ideas, she decided to quit. The new owner, to his credit, understood and was most gracious as my sister donned her coat and departs.  

That is my sister. When she makes up her mind, that is it.

That last pie? It was pumpkin. And her retort to my question about that last day: “You have to know when you have made enough pies”. I just love her.