Just another day in the trenches

What profession in the world exists, do you think, where if someone asks you what you do for a living, and you tell them, that their most common reply is, "Wow. So how do you like the money?"

Pardon me? Isn't asking strangers about their salary considered....crass? rude? demeaning? Investment bankers will look embarrassed, lawyers will look smug, and janitors will look dejected. It's personal, isn't it?

Well, not if you are a teacher. People ask me that all of the time. Yep. It's just great. Variations include, "So how do you live on that teacher's salary? (soulful look)", and "I thought about doing that, BUT it just didn''t pay enough. You are so noble. (dramatic sigh)"

After a number of times where I spent the next couple hours feeling like a failure and wondering how I was ever going to afford anything in life, I realized something. I was okay with being middle-class. I was okay with having three months of vacation a year. I was okay with working in an county with one of the highest teacher's salaries in the nation (although the DC metro area ain't cheap). In fact, I was pretty much happy with my financial status for now. So why wasn't everyone else happy with it too?

You know what I think it is? Guilt. Americans feel guilty about paying me and my compatriots piddly-squat to watch over and educate their children. They feel awful about stiffing those who care for the future of their loved ones. And you know what? They should.

That's right, America. Wallow in your guilt. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Me, I am going to not go out on the town much (I can't afford it) and save every penny this website gives me. In a few weeks, hopefully, you guilty Americans out there will have clicked on my ads enough to buy me a burger. Right? Right.

I am glad we had this talk.