Awesome Stuff about Sharing a Car

Ever since Art and I decided to become a one-car family last month, we've been riding to work together in the morning. Art works in downtown St. Paul, where parking anywhere nearby is prohibitively expensive (one of the many reasons selling a car started to make sense to us in the first place), so he rides with me to my office in downtown Minneapolis (which, for some odd reason, does have ample parking) and catches the express bus between the two downtowns.

I love this arrangement, but I don't think I realized just how much until Art worked from home this morning and I drove into the office without him.

Here are the reasons having Art in the car with me in the morning is wonderful:

1. Peer pressure not to be lazy. When someone else depends on you to get where he needs to be in the morning, you add a little hustle into your routine and often actually get to work at the time you intended.
   
   
2. Windshield ice scraping tag team! Who wouldn't love this unpleasant task to be over in half the time?
   
   
3. Someone to double check my blind spot in rush hour. Did you guys know people drive like jerks in the morning?
   
   
4. Carpool lane. Can't beat driving faster than everyone else while feeling vaguely superior to them.
   
   
5. Extra hangout time. Having fifteen minutes to chat about whatever you like (instead of the last time we see each other in the morning being a mad dash out the door because we're both late) is really pleasant.