These days, he's MIA ... and I know exactly why.

Guest blogger Jacqueline Steinhart:  The good news is we finally built a second bathroom for the home office. The bad news is my husband spends more time there than at the dining room table.

"Honey??? Honey??? SAAAAM??"

I yelled this series of unanswered calls for my husband every weekend for about a month.  Now I know better. I don't need to yell all over the house for him. I know exactly where my darling is. Behind closed doors. Not making deals, downing shots, or trolling Internet porn. Nope. He's in the room that has become his real office ... the office bathroom. 
 
We lived with one bathroom for four years, which, aside from occasionally having to pee outside, was manageable. Then we had baby number two and my mother started staying with us more and it became unbearable. We had this closet that was basically used to store my husband's comic books and even though it isn't legally big enough, we put a toilet and a sink in there several months ago and -- voila! -- we had a second "half-bath," to use real estate lingo.

There's only a small window in there ,so my better half suggested that we also put in an electronic fan. Little did I know when I agreed that better-smelling air was just a ruse to make sure that my sweetheart could properly seal himself off from the family. Because when you are in the new boudoir and the fan is on, the room becomes a sound-proof booth. Pretty inspired of him really.

My husband is a very helpful dad. Some days I get to sleep in because he lays my older son's clothes out for him and fixes him breakfast. So if the man wants to lock himself in a soundproof closet for a few hours every week and read his latest historically based novel, why does it make me so mad some days?

The only rational justification for my resentment I can come up with is that there is no way I could ever do this. If I was in the house and effectively disappeared, one, or all three, of the males that I live with would need something from me within five minutes. I think I am jealous that he gets to have this total private time without having to physically leave the house.

But I take comfort knowing the kids obviously love me more than him.