Well Off: but not wealthy...

I was born into a middle-class family where our father worked for the Federal Government and my mother did not work at all...  We lived simply and modestly but we always had what we needed when we needed it.  During elementary school, our father spent 6 months on the road for several years, leaving us without a father figure most of the time.

The choices that I made during my early years after high school but me in a position where I lived less well off as my parents instead of better as was the case for my brother and sister.  Consequently, I was referred to as the black sheep of the family and was tolerated by all of them but never admired.  I was not bother by this until my daughter became a teenager.

While I might have been a little jealous of my brother and sister, I was never envious because I never wanted their lifestyle which was one of:  fancy clothes, fancy parties, going to the Country Club, and rubbing elbows with celebrities and regional or local elites.   And, every time I joined one of the celebrations, I felt extremely out-of-place.

My life has been unimportant to my brother and sister while I have lived it as being important and worthwhile for me...  the more I have tried to get my brother and sister to see my life as important, they remain firm or even back away from accepting me or my life since it does not agree with them...  They have taught their children to accept their lifestyle rather than any other lifestyles that do not correlate to their points-of-view.

I am the only member of my family who has had a heart attack.
I am the only member of my family who has been diagnosed with cancer.

I am the only member of my family that lives paycheck-to-paycheck.

Most of my 45 year career was spent in EDUCATION...  helping people become better than they were...  believing in them so that they could believe in themselves...

Educators are traditionally not well paid.
Educators grow people.
Educators sacrifice.