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[quote=Anonymous]I hear you, OP. It's not a jealousy that consumes me or that I spend a lot of time thinking of, but it's there nonetheless.

I grew up "middle class" in a very poor region. Didn't go hungry as a kid, but expensive extracurriculars, vacations other than one week at the closest beach town, and my parents paying for college were not even a remote possibility. And my dad's financial troubles resulted in a bankruptcy that I am certain accelerated his untimely demise by at least a decade.

Mom's doing ok, but there's not going to be any estate to speak of. My spouse came from even poorer stock than I, relying on a carousel of local churches for several meals a week.

We are proud of ourselves, quietly, for "making it." And it's great to be able to provide fully -- great vacations, fancy summer camps, private schools, any medical treatment the kids could need (knock on wood), any unexpected home repair, clothes that aren't from Goodwill -- for our kids. But in a way it's that stuff that hits hardest, because it drives home what I didn't have. My jealousy is more for all that than it is for the real estate and cars that our wealthy-upbringing friends are able to buy with their inheritances.

For the most part I think DC is a fairly meritocratic place so I've never felt much judgment from people who know my background. Usually people are actually fascinated with my flyover state creds. Once or twice I've felt like there was a "lingo" that I didn't have ("Um, no, Jackson Hole is in *Wyoming*" or "it's pronounced *Bowdoin*"). And one drunk b*tch at a party "complimented" me for "being new money but not coming across like new money, you know?" But otherwise I don't feel like I don't belong in the PTA or whatever.

So, yeah, it would be nice to have the big inheritance to count on. But I know what some of those people will never know, which is what I was capable of when I had no safety net and no help.[/quote]

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