Moms Don't Take Vacations

When a mom goes away and leaves children home, a part of her hopes that said children will keep things neat and tidy, clean up after themselves, and generally run the house the way she does. That part of mom--we'll call her 'manager mom', wants to come home to a clean house so she can pick up her duties without a back log of work.
But another side of moms is the sub-conscious, quiet side of mothers who miss their children, miss their home, miss cooking for the family, miss being in charge of who goes where when and how.  That part of mothers--we'll call her 'sentimental mom' knows--feels--instinctively--that not every thing will be done according to manager mom's plans--and secretly relishes that fact.  She knows that no one child (or even serveral) can do the work of manager mom and she's glad, even if she does not care to admit it to her family.
When sentimental mom gets home and sees piles of dirty clothes waiting to be washed, she knows it means her laundering duties are vital to the family.  When she sees leftover food in the fridge from the day before she left for a 6-day absence, she realizes that her daily reminders are necessary for smooth household routines.
Manager mom is glad and even proud of how well her children managed without her.  She hears reports from others about how responsible they are, what a delight they were to those who helped care for them while mom and dad were gone.  She know they can manage on their own, that they are responsible for themselves, each other, the dog and the house and she feels blessed by their maturity.
Sentimental mom hears the tired tones in the nightly calls to home, though.  She understands the weary, exasperated spirit behind the complaint, "I'm ready to kill our dog, mom. She's been barking every night and early every morning!"
Being the keeper of the house and schedule is hard work.  Sentimental/Manager mom knows it.  She gets tired and weary, exasperated and ready to quit sometimes, too.  Both Sentimental and Manager mom are glad to be home, back on the job (no matter how back-logged it is), ready to get to work caring for her family in person again.