The Difference Between Moms and Dads

Doug has a weekly card game. Every Wednesday night, like clockwork, he drives to way far out Virginia and plays some card game I don't understand with his friends. He has been doing it forever, and it's sacred to him. So, every Wednesday night I am parenting alone. Doug doesn't feel guilty about it, it's just part of his weekly schedule.
I go out to dinner once a month with the moms in my playgroup. It's a dinner I look forward to all month, and normally the only time I am out without Doug or Michael. In the past two weeks I will have been out 3 nights, and most of last Sunday because I went to the Redskins game with a girlfriend. And I feel guilty.
I don't feel guilt because Doug's mad, or because I don't think I deserve the time out, it's more because it's so much time, all piled up at once. And it's silly, I'm entitled to a life, even if that life includes a lot of activities at the same time, like BlogHer and a DC Metro Moms party, in which the lovely people at Chevy gave me a Traverse to drive for a week and to drive my fellow bloggers to the party. Wasn't that nice of them?
But I can't shake the guilt, like I'm falling down on the mom and wife job and spending too much time as a blogger and a party girl. Not that Michael minds, he loves his alone time with Daddy.
Where's Devra when you need her?
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I want to say a big thank you for all the thoughtful and lovely comments yesterday. I tried to email back everyone whose email I could find. If you did not get an email back from me do not doubt that your comment was read and appreciated. I honestly think that this blog is what is keeping me grounded and secure during everything that is going on.