Erma Bombeck, the author who wrote "If Life Is A Bowl Of Cherries, What Am I Doing Here In The Pits", tells of two moments in her husband's life:

There was a time when the children were growing up that her husband used to go and look at the back yard.  Surveying the muddy patches where the lawn should be, he would wonder Will the grass ever come back?

And then there was the time when the children were grown and gone that her husband went and looked over the beautiful green lawn, immaculate from lack of use and wondered Will the children ever come back?

Some parts of life are temporary - some are eternal.  Wisdom knows the difference.  This is the fundamental issue at stake in the story of Mary and Martha.