The Best School Fee Money Ever Spent

One reason we liked our house was that we could walk to the community center, library and elementary school. For the past four years we've walked to and from school most days.
This year the girls are taking the bus to and from middle school. Some parents debated about whether they should drive their kids to school every day or put them on the bus. It was a decision for many families because we all lived too close for free bus service. In our school district if you live 1.5 miles from school the bus is free. We live 1.2 miles from school, so it cost us $200 per girl.
It is only the second school day and I already love the bus. The girls' bus stop is four houses away from us. The girls practically ran there this morning they were so excited to go to school.
The bus, though, really makes my day easier. I heard over and over again that drop-offs and pick-ups at the middle school were time consuming activities. Some parents reported getting to the middle school about an hour before dismissal to get in line. All parents reported that it was a mess every day.
I know myself well enough to know that I couldn't do it every day with everything else going on. Maybe if I didn't work full-time I'd have the flexibility to schedule the school run every day. Maybe if Holly didn't need her walks I could spend mornings waiting to drop-off our girls. Plus, I really don't have the patience to deal with the daily mess.
As I paid for the bus service I started second-guessing myself. It was a lot of money for something that we didn't really need. Then I started thinking about the hassles involved with daily drop-off and pick-up. In the end it was easy to pay the fee. Given how much the girls like taking the bus already, it was the right decision for all of us.