After my family moved, we decided to keep our kid in his old school. I treasure the hours we get in the car together.

• After moving in 2020, I decided not to send my son to a preschool closer to our new home.
• I'd spent years dreading commutes — but having kids changed the whole concept for me.

Sliding into the driver's seat after a long day of work, I buckle myself in and turn up "'90s on 9" satellite radio.

"It's the Zombie song!" my toddler calls out from the back seat, where he's secure in his red car seat, his baby brother to his right. I turn up The Cranberries and listen to his sweet voice crooning, "Zombie! Zombie! Zom-bie-bie-bie-bie!"

For the next half hour, similar to the half hour we spend in the morning, I'll be in conversation with him — about the day he had at school, the vagaries of childhood and his classmates, the school buses that excite him with their flashing lights and stop signs.

I know many people choose to send their children to daycare close to their homes. As a teacher, when my child is in school over the summer and I have a 30-minute commute to get him instead of a five-minute one, I sometimes question my decision.

We chose a faraway school

When we moved in the summer of 2020, we could have chosen to change childcare to somewhere more local than the place he'd been going to — five minutes from my job — since he was 6 months old. I figured that after five months at home with me, he'd have to make some adjustments no matter what.

We decided to keep him in the same school, even if it was farther from home. For one thing, finding childcare you trust wholeheartedly, that you know is clean and safe and loving, is priceless. I have known many people who have cycled through options, unhappy with one after another. The proximity was not worth an unknown quantity.

But as my son has aged into a bright, inquisitive 4-year-old, I've found another reason to love my daycare location.

Every day that I commute with two sons, the older one calling out and singing and chatting with me the whole way, I'm reminded of other commutes in my life.

When I started out in education, I drove over an hour each way, over two commuter bridges, with occasional crashes putting my commute in the three-hour range. It was dark when I left and dark when I arrived home. Winter months were more miserable with salting trucks nearly running my little red Hyundai off the road.

I contrast that with how my drives go every day now.

I get quality time with my son

My toddler and I sing together, a shared passion — show tunes and '90s grunge and indie rock. I get to hear about his day, his friends, his life.

Instead of lonely crawls toward and away from work, my commutes are some of my favorite parts of my day. And instead of "me time," which I always had before, I now have "us time" which I love. I delight in getting concentrated time with my kids.

I'm already thinking ahead to a year from now, when my toddler will go to kindergarten on a school bus, as he has excitedly told me many times. His brother will step into the role of my commute partner, but it may be different. All kids are different.

For now, I treasure our car rides together, singing along to the radio, never a dull or lonely moment.