It's going to be a lonnnnggg afternoon...

Upon returning to work after maternity leave, I had been working until 1:30 on Thursdays, instead of my normal quitting time of 4:15. It was nice. Very nice. There's just something magical about leaving the office under the jealous, furtive glances of co-workers confined to their cubes until quittin' time, getting on that elevator and kissing this place goodbye until Monday morning. But, alas, it is no more. Now that the winter months are upon us, I found that leaving at 1:30, trucking down to our parking lot to get the car (or waiting for the bus to the lot, which is much like standing in line at the DMV,) letting the car warm up, driving to daycare, chatting with daycare Betty, bundling up Josiebean, making our way home and not arriving until 2:30... then putting her down for a nap, getting her up, bundling her up again and hopping back in the car (oh, yeah... we also have a detached garage - which is a GIANT hassle in the winter) to go pick up Pat from work at 4:45, just wasn't worth it anymore. Granted, Patrick could take the bus home... but that can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to eternity during rush hour. Then he misses any time with Josie before she turns in at the whopping late hour of 6:30 pm. So - we decided that since we're paying for a whole day at daycare on Thursdays anyway, I may as well stay at work for a couple more hours and make a little - and I mean LITTLE - more moola. It's not like Josie and I were getting any real, quality bonding time. So come 1:30, I'll still be here, looking longingly toward the direction of the elevator while my co-workers secretly smirk with glee. *sigh*