Apple Blueberry Pie
Today I chose to make a pie without knowing where it might end up. I was present for the making of the pie.. and worked carefully to make a lovely pie… but still I was not sure where it would be delivered. After it was baked I asked my daughter to go for a walk with me so that I might have a chance to think of a pie recipient… and as we exited our house I saw Leslie.
For those of you who have been following my blog, you will recall that Leslie is a woman who I met when she was having a garage sale… and at that sale our sons became friends. That was the beginning of our friendship and it has been almost 16 years since that first meeting!
Tonight it was Leslie that suggested I bring a pie to Aaron, for he was the person who had coached her son Dylan when he was training to become a black belt in karate. She told me that Aaron worked with men who were incarcerated and he helped them with rites of passage ceremonies. These men may never again be on the outside, but Aaron works to help them move forward somehow.
Tonight I want to recognize Aaron, and others like him, who work with the people in our prison systems. They do this work without judgement… and most of the time without pay… and it is such a valuable service that they offer. I extend my heartfelt thanks to them for the gifts that they give to the people that they serve.
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
― Nelson Mandela
Pie a Day Give Away 
Karen, As your year is coming to an end I have to tell you that I will miss your posts. I started catching up with you later as you know, when Wayne told us all that you might be able to come for Aunt Gladys wake. I still tumble over those words as if they simply couldn’t be true but as we know they are .Wayne is the one who told us all about your pie a day give away and once I got home and looked it up I found myself looking every day to see what you had been baking. I cried when you posted about sending your pie for Aunt Gladys,cried again when you talked about your Mom and your sister and then again when Darren told us you had sent a pie to him. I hope you know how much that meant to him. I will be sad when the 365 days are done as I have really loved seeing the woman who I had remembered as a sweet, beautiful and loving young girl come full circle. You and I share a lot of the same memories and I am really proud of what you have been doing ,and as I said will be sad to see it end .You are a truly remarkable and loving lady Karen and I am so glad that Wayne set it all in mltion to share a little corner of your world!