Where has all the magic gone?

When one member of a marital union, who hitherto has worked from the couple's home, goes to work outside the home full time, it often creates stress on the marital relationship. The spouse, who -- by virtue of having always worked outside the home and having a long commute -- has been accustomed up to this point to having his meals prepared, his clothes washed and neatly folded, his shirts pressed, and his computer dusted, suddenly must cope with the reality that the Magic Genie who used to live at his house and who performed all these services no longer wishes to be solely responsible for them.

This is confusing, and disappointing, as he liked the Magic Genie, and does not fully comprehend why she had to go away. The Magic Genie was sweet, and relatively uncomplaining. In her place is a Drill Sergeant who is constantly wanting him to "help out," to do things like chop up zucchini for dinner, take out the garbage (including the zucchini peels), and fold his own underwear.

He tries to do what the Drill Sergeant would like him to do, but he finds she is not easy to please. Waiting to take the trash out until it smells like an open sewer is not in keeping with her expectations. The shower curtain must drape nicely outside the bathtub after he is done showering, not be all scrunched inside of it. Omitting the laundry in favor of simply buying additional white t-shirts and dress socks is not acceptable.

While he attempts to carry out the Sergeant's instructions, he secretly hopes for the Magic Genie to come back. He tries to lure her by proposing time-saving dinners, which would give her more writing time. But the Drill Sergeant, he learns, does not like the idea of having roasted deli chicken -- or worse, boiled chicken -- with canned mixed vegetables for dinner every night. She wants more variety, more creative ideas, more healthy meals. Nor does she warm to the idea of eating their meals right from the pan, over the sink, saving precious time in setting and clearing the table and washing the dishes.

Life begins to settle down into an uneasy routine, and he thinks wistfully of the Magic Genie every now and then. But then his spouse's first paycheck arrives, and suddenly he thinks, maybe the Drill Sergeant isn't so bad after all. And he hums to himself as he cuts up the zucchini.