Anatomy of Descendants and Class

The smallest member of my household, soon to be age 1o, and still very little, said something so witty and funny Friday that I want to remember if forever (as if there is a forever). But first, before I get to that, the other member of my household said something interesting Friday, while we were driving, about how the Mayan calendar created in BC times ends in 2012, so many people believe the world ends then, since the Mayans were so accurate in predicting the future as it pertains to cycles of the moon and in creating a very precise calendar. The Mayans predicted a cataclysm on December 21, 2012, but scientists believe it is not an accurate prediction; some say the Mayan odometer will just be re-set that day.
Anyway, the little one and I were driving, and for some reason she brought up the concept of social classes. She talked about the difference between the rich and the poor. She immediately tried to think of a better word for "poor." She wanted to illustrate for me what she meant. She held up her left hand, saying, "This is the rich." Then she held up her right hand. "This is the poor ... no, this is the ..." she paused while evidence of philosophical pondering graced her face. I helped. "I prefer to replace the word 'poor' with 'financially challenged,'" I said (I like to throw that in whenever I can).
"OK," she said, now holding up both hands. "We've got the rich" (she holds up her left hand again) "and we've got the financially challenged" (she holds up her right hand) (she sounds really smart now). "And ... " she looks around for another placemaker in addition to her hands. I knew she was looking for something she could call the middle. I was thinking to myself, I wonder if she's going to ask where we fall. Will I be explaining that I think we're in lower middle class? We've never talked about it before.
I offered my hand for the middle.
"No, I've got it," she said. She held up her bare foot --- her right foot --- and said, "This is the middle class. We're the pinkie toe." I said, "You're right. I think we are the pinkie toe. We have a roof over our head, we always have food to eat, we pay our bills, but there's not much left over."
There was a woman driving a convertible right in front of us. The car was brand new and had a dealer's plate on it. I pointed to the car and asked, "Where do you think she fits in?" to which she replied, "She's the big toe."
"Why not rich?" I asked.
"Because," she rolled her eyes at me as if I were clueless. "There aren't any rich, rich people here. Rich people live in Hollywood, New York, Hawaii, places like that."
"You don't think any rich people live here?" I asked.
"No, they wouldn't be here if they were rich," she said.
I thought about how we were the pinkie toe. My sister's probably in the big toe category with her husband. My parents are in the pinkie toe category. Their parents were the pinkie toe (actually they may have been more precisely in the middle; I can't be sure). My children will probably be the pinkie toe. Their children will probably be the pinkie toe. There's probably not much I can do. It feels OK. Why fight class when odds are stacked against someone from significantly changing? Just be, and be happy.