Last day of 8th and 10th grades. Last day of driving my kids to school, possibly forever. Eden will have her license soon and next school year she can transport both herself and her brother to school. They’ll be back together, going to the same school again. Once she’s graduated, he will have his license… so that’s that, really.

Parenthood means that we are SO in a life phase and then suddenly we aren’t and we just go speeding right on to the next thing. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

When you’re in the middle of raising teeny tinies it is so frustrating for someone to tell you “cherish every minute because it goes so fast” and you’ve literally looked at the clock thirteen times in the last 30 minutes and the hand hasn’t moved and it must be broken. But then suddenly they really aren’t teeny tinies any more and you’ve traded them in for the next model and you don’t even know when or how that happened. And it really does go fast. In the macro view of it all, it blazes by.

So today I dropped off my kids for the last time and they headed into school and it was just any other morning. And next year, everything will be different. And life will be easier in some ways but we will start to miss all of those trips across the valley and allll of the driving and all of that time we had them, our captive audiences. And then suddenly things will be different again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

This was a delish meal that I threw together quickly from what was in the fridge. We always get the best meat in our farm box and this sausage was no exception! The leftovers might even be better the second day for breakfast, reheated in a skillet and served with a runny egg on top.

1 lb Spicy, ground German sausage
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1-2″ pieces
3 baked russet potatoes, cubed (if you don’t have baked potatoes on hand, see below for alternate cooking instructions.)
4 cups of kale, torn into bite sized pieces
1/4 c red wine
1/2 c chicken stock
olive oil
salt and pepper

In a medium sized skillet, brown the sausage. At the same time, in a large skillet or wok, heat a couple Tbs of olive oil and sauté the potatoes and asparagus until the asparagus is tender and the potatoes start to crisp slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the red wine and chicken stock to the browned sausage and let it cook down slightly. Add the kale to the potato mixture and cook until it’s tender and slightly wilted. Once the wine/stock mixture has thickened slightly, add to the potato mixture and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with spicy brown mustard.

*To cook potatoes quickly, chop the potatoes into 1 inch chunks, place in a microwave-proof bowl, cover with water. Top the bowl with a lid or plate and microwave until the potatoes are tender, about 8-10 minutes depending on your microwave.