Pretty much my dream evening last night. Rain. Wind. Shadows drawing close. To celebrate the first real chill of autumn, we threw together our old stand-by one pot dinner of sausage and beans and ate in front of the fire last night. With Callum staying late for cross country practice these days, we generally roll in the door about the same time as Neel does, so our dinners have changed a bit. Cal did go to school yesterday, and he's glad he did! Got some good test grades back and won a flip video camera in a raffle. Holy freaking awesome, batman. Not too shabby!

After we all settled in, Cal headed up to work on his homework, and Neel and I gathered in the living room to decompress and chat about the day. These are the nights I love. Not the rush to get dinner on the table with the news squawking in the background. Not the nagging to get back on the homework. Not the clock watching or the worry that there isn't enough time, ever enough time to get it all in. Just the wind, the rain, some warm food, a glass of wine and a happy kid. All I need, really. All I ever need.