h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My teenage kids have gone back to school today. Thank God. Xmas holidays last about three weeks in Italy and it's certainly quite a long time unless you go somewhere for an extended vacation. While my daughter is always on the go (friends, gym, the odd party), my son loves to stay at home (computer, playstation). Thus, I'm stuck. A feeling of elation, of freedom this morning as I loafed thru the supermarket, bought vegetables from a cooperative of farmers, had a lazy breakfast (cappuccino and sandwich) at the village bar and then decided to visit friends at a nearby bonsai greenhouse. Frivolous? Superficial? Of course, but quite enjoyable. Then the usual pattern started again: prepare lunch for the kids, pick them up from school, start messing about to put together dinner and wait for my wife to come back from the office (5 pm). A male housewife? Yes, after 34 years of work in the 'Office for Special Relief Operations' of an international organization. And, frankly speaking, I've started to understand better the frustrations of housewives. Comrade husbands: take wives out for dinner once in a while (a pizza, an 'Osteria' (relatively low cost food joint where the owner ('oste') serves basic local preparations and - most of the time - his own wine). I don't know what the equivalent of an 'osteria' is in England, but I'm sure there must be one.http://www.h2g2.com/h2g2/skins/brunel/images/buttons/laugh.gif