Cue the Rocky Theme!

One small victory has been won today in the large-scale war that is my parenting struggle. If you don't already know about the daycare fiasco, I'll try to sum up for you. I have been driving 50 miles a day to drop my dear child off at day care. It's 12.5 miles to the day care and then 12.5 miles back to work. Hm, isn't that weird how those numbers are so close together? Well, that's because I live 1.2 miles from work. And then turning around and making the identical drive every afternoon. I have been making that insane drive for three years. That comes out to approximately 30,000 miles. Yeah. Sucks. Well, I never really pushed it before because the co-parent was working 40 miles away, in Ft Worth. So even though he only took the bambina one night a week, he was still commuting more than I was. Unfair? Yes. Still. He would also like to play that card of "I have to be at work at blah blah time tomorrow." Well, not my problem, bucko because I have to be at work at a certain time every morning too, and still manage to drive 25 miles out of my way to get her to day care and myself to work. So my frustration runneth over (had you not noticed already?).

Now the good news is, the co-parent got a new job! Yay!!! He is currently training at a bank about 3 miles from my residence! Awesome! More equal driving time? Don't count on it. Every time I try to bring it up, I get something like this, "I just started a new job, can I just get settled in?" So today...as I sat at a dead stop on the freeway on my way to pick up my darling child, some thoughts came to me and made my blood positively boil. I have been sick most of this week. He did not take her one night. His night was last night and, granted he bought us dinner, did not keep her overnight. So I am left making that heinous drive in the morning. Now mind you, for him to get home, he has to drive RIGHT PAST the day care! He lives approximately five minutes from it. While you pick your chin up off the floor, let me try to put into words my thought process:

So here I am. Stuck on the freeway at 5:10. I haven't
moved. Aren't there any traffic reports on any of these stations???
Damn Clear Channel. This sucks. I have 12 miles to go so that puts
me at the day care around....at this pace.....hm.....6:00. And he's going
to drive right past that day care on his way home tonight and he's going to
drive right past it on his way to work tomorrow. WHY AM I DOING
THIS??? Because he has to go to work. Bah. His "first week" my
ass. Oh hey, phone.

Him: Hey, I can't take her tonight.
Me: Why not?
Him: I have to work tomorrow.
Me: Join the freakin club, dude.
Him: I have to be there at 7:30.
Me: And?
Him: I would have to get her up at 6:00.
Me: To drive her five miles??? It's. On. Your. WAY! You want me to drive 25 miles out of my way when you have to practically drive through the day care to get here?
Him: It's my first week. Can you just let me settle in?
Me: Uh, did I get any special treatment when I started my job? NO!
Him: It's only my third day, I'm still getting adjusted.
Me: Dude, if it were me in your situation, you would so not make any kind of special effort. You would tell me to suck it up and figure it out. You have not had her all week. I left the car seat at the day care.
Him: .......
Me: Did you have plans tonight or something?
Him: NO! I work during the week! I don't make plans because I work!
Me: Well, so do I and I drive 25 miles out of my way every morning to accomodate you so what's the big deal?
Him: Fine I'll take her.
Me: When?
Him: Tonight.
Me: But I'm already sitting in traffic.
Him: Turn around.
*click*

Heeeehehehe!!! Now, I left out the part about tomorrow night. You see, the bambina goes to his Mom's on Friday nights to stay the weekend. He also stays Friday nights at his Mom's so that he and Gabi can have a day to play on Saturday, which, good. Now, his Mom lives just north of Ft Worth. So it made sense before now for him to just drive to his Mom's and for me to waste most of my evening driving all over tarnation. My Friday night trips = 100 miles total, but I got a free home-cooked meal out of it compliments of his Mom (she loves me!). So now that we are basically equidistant from the day care, he should go pick her up and take her to his Mom's since he's going that way anyway, right? Ah! Not so fast! He wanted me to drive from work to the day care and back to my place....25 miles....so he could pick her up at my place and take her to his Mom's. Aw, how sweet! So I still get to sit in traffic and get no home cooked meal out of it? My ass! He can taste the bitterness that is the 100 mile Friday Night Grand Prix! Well, actually it's "only" 75 miles because that last 25 is my return trip home. You know....1.2 miles from where I started three and a half hours ago? Yeah. Nightmare.

My plan is to irritate the hell out of him until he finally relents and lets me move her to a day care closer to where we BOTH work. Is it ridiculous that I have let it go on for three years? Hell yes it is. Do I see a light at the end of the tunnel? Oh yes. And it is like a glazed donut, beckoning me to partake!