If I don't shop, the children starve and the Tanqueray is mixed with flat tonic water, or nothing at all. If I didn't plan and book camps, the children would spend the entire summer as unhappy trolls under my desk. If I didn't change the oil in the car and truck, they would die loud and expensive deaths. Likewise, if I don't pick a day, call a baby sitter and choose a restaurant, we don't go out. If I hadn't slept on the kitchen floor, the lost hamster might still be lost.
Power is an awesome thing.
The power to mop, shop and launder produces instant gratification. These are tough commodities to come by in most workplaces. I have cornered the market on the most mundane of tasks for complex reasons. After a day of unreturned phone calls, filling the car's gas tank becomes a monumental achievement. There is ecstasy in having the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, lawn sprinkler and ice maker all running at once.