I drive my entire family everywhere. And most of the time, I really like it.
In the morning, it starts with dropping my daughter off at school around 7:45am, followed by my wife at work a bit after 8am and then my son at daycare by 8:15am or so depending on how grumpy he feels.
Then in the afternoon, the bus route reverses, targeting a smooth pickup and delivery home by 5:15pm or so.
In total, that’s a decent chunk of time in the car with the entire family. On the morning route, we can coordinate any unusual schedules and remind each other of to-do items. On the evening route, we can catch up on the events of the day and transition into dinner time.
Of course there are exceptions thanks to kid activities and work-related functions, but generally it results in the papa bus making the rounds at custom times.
It may sound strange to some people, but I like the routine. It keeps things moving along nicely in our daily lives and we rarely have communication issues. A lot of potential stress is nullified.
Eventually my kids will get older and find ways to challenge the routine. But for now, I’m totally taking advantage of my bus route.