It will be quite along weekend for us in these parts of the desert as the Islamic Hijra New Year will be on 21st February giving us Thrusday, Friday and Saturday off. Our working week is Saturday through Wednesday and Thursdays and Fridays are weekends. Perhaps I'd take an entire day to be by myself and recharge my spirits. It is difficult to take leave nowadays with a daughter in mind. I always feel guilty leaving her to her child-minder. It appears as if I'm a bad mother, going off somewhere and enjoying myself instead of minding and caring for my own daughter. The tug-of-war between the choice of having a few hours of peace and quite and being there for your child is often confusing and leaves me in a state of depression. Do men have the same feelings? I know my husband hates leaving us behind. He works in a nearby city a couple of hours away, and only gets to see us on his days off. As he is away, he sometimes goes out for drinks with the boys and I wonder if he feels as guilty as I when I'm out alone shopping or with friends without our daughter. Do women really worry more than men do? Why do we do that? Do hormones have anything to do with it? Is it because we both have the 'x' and the 'y' and guys are lacking because they only have the exes? Oh dear, more stuff to ponder on.