person A: My wife is going away on a business trip soon.... she'll be gone for a couple of weeks.
person B: That'll be tough.  Do you have anything you can do to keep busy?
person A: Well_comma_ I might do some work on the house. But it's going to be awfully quiet around here.
person B: I bet.  It's sometimes surprising how much your life revolves around the other person being in the house.