I am probably the most jaded person I know... but here is my take on the wife/kids thing.
What I always found interesting is that somehow you are supposed to feel guilty if you occasionally go sailing and the wife is home taking care of the kid(s). I didn't have a problem not sailing to take care of the kid but I never understood why both of us had to be home and miserable when we would rather be somewhere else doing something else. My wife is somewhat into mountain biking and I was always saying "if I am going to be here, then go for a friggin bike ride or something." I think, in the end, my wife just wanted me to be home AND as miserable as she was. Made (and still makes) NO sense to me.