Five days before Dad passed away, Uncle Bud and Donna surprised Mom and I in the parking lot of The Villages in North Branch. Mom and I were just returning from lunch (or some errand, whatever) and as I drove up I glanced at a car circling the parking lot and said “That looks like Uncle Bud”. Sure enough it was.
They came in for a visit, which Dad really seemed to enjoy. As luck would have it, this day was about the peak of his time between the last dialysis visit and the day he passed away.
When we finally talked Bud and Donna into staying for dinner, Dad wanted to join us. We went to one of Mom and Dad’s favorites, Cafe Stugga. This is a very simple, farm food sort of good, but inexpensive place, just a few miles up the road from where they live. Dad had been there many, many times. His favorite meal at Cafe Stugga was a shrimp burger, onion rings and iced tea –with lots and lots of sweetener–.
It was his last meal out. I know he enjoyed it a lot.