Urban Horse Rides

I came home the other day to find two horses on my neighbor's front lawn. I should mention that I don't live on a farm or even remotely close to a rural area. Why there were horses on my street was yet to be determined.

It turns out the town was trying to give the kiddies a taste of the good life: horseback riding on the soccer field. Sadly for some of these kids, that's the only time they will get to even see a live horse. Well, this horse fiasco got me thinking about my own kid and the priveleges he will have.
We just recently got back from a trip out to Ithaca (you know, from "Ithaca is Gorges" t-shirts?). It also happens to be the home of Cornell U- where naturally my son will attend school in approximately 17 years (no pressure, Josh, really). Interesting enough, what I thought was a very simple family vacation, hiking in the woods, evidently, is a big freakin' deal! Some people who saw my photographs on Facebook commented "oh, Ithaca..." (insert snooty facial expression here).

AS IF!

Now, my husband and I certainly live within our means. We have a decent small home in what I like to call urban suburbia- you know, where part of the town is sketchy and the other part doesn't even look like it belongs. Yeah, that's where we live. We don't make alot of money, but it's enought to keep the mortgagers happy and food in the fridge. We work as hard as we can to provide for our son and give him a great life.

Naturally, if you live or even vacation in a certain area, you're automatically lumped in a group that could either be positive or negative lumping, depending on the audience. What I am grappling with is WHY DON'T SOME PEOPLE WANT MORE FOR THEIR KIDS?

I've heard things like, "Oh, Johnny doesn't come from a wealthy family so he didn't do this or that and got himself into trouble." oh yeah? But what about these success stories that you hear in the news every so often about people who came from nothing, went on to college and are DOING SOMETHING WITH THEMSELVES! That didn't require trust funds and partying with senators.

To my urban suburban neighbors, GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE POORHOUSE and everything else will follow. YES! YOU CAN!! Getting Junior on a horse to give him a taste of the good life is not going to cut it.