Why?

I'm leaving for a writing conference in a few hours, and find myself running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. Throw laundry in. Take laundry out. Make dinner and put in refrigerator. Be sure snacks are available for kids. Scoop cat litter.

I'll be gone one night. Maybe a little over 24 hours.

Tim will be here, with the kids. Four healthy and very capable kids. I have complete confidence in my husband and know he'll take good care of the wee beasts (who aren't so wee anymore). He won't do things the way I do, but he'll get those things done. Furthermore, those children are relatively self-sufficient.

And yet, I still feel like I need to leave the house in a state such that no one will really notice that I'm gone.

I don't have time to answer the question, only to ask it. And so, I'll leave that answer for another day.