Instead of the usual entrance into the zoo, zoo campers come and go through a back gate located inside an old Knoxville neighborhood. I was supposed to turn at the first prostitute, but I was distracted by the excited 5-year-old asking me a steady stream of questions (“Will they know my name?) and missed my turn. I turned at the cheap motel with the man urinating in the parking lot and made my way through the streets completely void of children playing. From a full block away, the zoo employee smiled and waved to me. I wondered if minivans are that unusual in that neighborhood or if I just have a clueless look on my face visible for miles. Tonight I sat catching up on the blogs in my feed reader and came across a question being asked by Katie. I can’t be certain, but I suspect that my morning drive is part of the answer to her question.

Living in a metro area sounds very exciting and hip and I always imagined it to be the lifestyle of the luckiest single and childless adults of all ages. After a small amount of time on local group blogs and boards, I realized that a lot of the “downtown is best” people have an angry, condescending rudeness for anyone who lives in the suburbs. While not as vile as the “anti-breeders”, it is still a very unattractive quality that has tarnished what I once viewed as a vogue lifestyle which I might have considered when my children are grown.