This week, my wife is out of town from this morning (Sunday) until Thursday. She's meeting with editors, spending a day on a coastal fishing boat and reporting on at least two other stories as well. Busy week. All I've got to do is keep Max and Sam from killing each other.

There's a reason she apologizes every time she goes out of town.

There's also a reason why I tell her she doesn't need to do that.

Yes, I work more when she's out of town. She gets up with the guys most mornings, which gives me an extra half-hour or so of not-exactly sleeping. And she generally takes charge of the guys when she gets home. Or, more accurately, they abandon me and flee to her when she gets home. Either way, I can soak my head for a couple minutes before finishing dinner or cleaning up the kitchen or whatever. I don't get those breaks when she's out of town.

Then again, kids tend to behave better when only one of us is around. Some days, Barbara is convinced that Max is demonspawn. When she veers down that road, I often ask if there's something she's not telling me (a side trip to Iraq and an amorous evening with a jackal, perhaps?). That usually defuses the situation. But it is true that both Max and Sam put a lot of energy into playing both sides. This is what kids do.

And then there's the fact that my evenings are my evenings. I can catch up on a little reading, spend as much time as I like working on reviews for A&A (which is what I'll be doing this week) or, if I'm really lucky, get in an hour or two of Civilization or SimCity. Oh, and Netflix doesn't suck, either.

Still, it's a longer day for me by two or three hours. And truth be told, I'm often too tired to enjoy those fun "extras." There was a time when I was known for my indefatigable energy. Not anymore.

But I'm not complaining. Barbara gets to do the work she wants to do (and going out on assignment is the favorite part of her job). That makes her happy, which tends to make everyone else happy (or at least happier).

Max and Sam miss her--Sam doesn't quite talk yet, but he tends to ask for his mommy more and more while she's gone. Max doesn't ask for her, but he gets fixated on what she's doing to the point of ignoring what he's doing. Last month, while she was out in Arizona and Mexico working on a set of immigration pieces, Max spent more time talking about the desert than he did talking about his "vehicles." Anyone who knows four-year-olds knows how remarkable that is.

There are those who might ask how Barbara feels about being away from her children. I think I can say this much for her: She misses them. A lot. But that doesn't mean she wants to quit her job and stay at home. By the end of most weekends, she's ready to go back to work. Which is cool, because that's what she does.

A lot of pundit parents (parents who happen to be pundits, that is) spend a lot of time arguing about whether it is better for kids to have two "working" parents or a stay-at-home parent. There is an ancillary squabble called the "mommy wars" which seems to want to pit "working" moms against "non-working" moms.

Sounds stupid? That's because it is. We have friends who both work. We have friends with a mom who stays at home. We have friends with a dad that stays at home. Some have nannies. Some use daycare centers. Some of the kids seem better-adjusted than others...though that generally seems to have more to do with the kid than the caretaker.

Everybody's family is different. Some "working" parents are better with kids than others. Some stay-at-home parents shouldn't be at home. Some kids are bigger challenges than others.

In my life, I've known thousands of families. No two could be called identical. We all do things that other folks simply wouldn't or couldn't. Barbara couldn't have the jobs she's had if I didn't stay at home (or we somehow made enough money to hire a nanny--not bloody likely). I don't mind the moving around, and I sure don't mind taking care of the guys. After all, that was always our plan. But it doesn't work for everybody. And it shouldn't.

When I tell people that Barbara is out of town, I get plenty of sympathy, especially from other stay-at-home parents. But there's a reason I do this job. I do it because I love it. Lucky for me that, by and large, I'm pretty good at it. At least, the boys haven't killed each other yet.

And yes, that fact makes my parenthood an unqualified success.

Jon Worley always liked The Omen.