What time is it?

Funny how the night we went to urgent care (Thursday), Pora dropped by at around 5:30. Tom's out of town and we're just chatting, etc., with Eli's scheduled appt at 7:10 in the back of my head. At some point, I asked what time it was and it dawned on me...

If it were a weekday when Tom was coming home at 6, I'd know exactly what time it was to the minute anytime between 5-6PM. Pora totally identified. At 6:00, Tom walks through the door, along with a sense of relief, adult conversation and companionship, a knowledge of added help, a breath of freshness from the outside world. When he's not coming home and I'm on my own, I don't have that same sense of expectancy or hope. I wonder how much pressure that puts on husbands that come home to harried wives.