I don’t know if you have read Reminisce magazine, but one of my favorite features is where people talk about what they ate as kids. One guy said that during the Depression, he ate lard sandwiches. He was so ashamed that he couldn’t trade lunches with the other kids because they’d find out just how poor his family was.
My dad used to eat mashed potato sandwiches for lunch, he was so embarrassed, he would run away at lunch and eat alone.
He also had to wait after school because he had to bring home the garbage to feed the pigs.
He ran away at 16, lied and joined the Navy. Terrible stepfather who was running after him with a 2x4, ran by his mom and said “I’m leaving”, she said “I don’t blame you son”.
When I think my life is crappy, I remember such things.