I never noticed how modest my childhood lifestyle was until my 1st grade teacher asked the class what we all did for vacation during the school break. I worked on a ranch or stayed home playing with secondhand toys. I remember thinking “wait… is this what people do? How?” I remember missing out on many opportunities as a child (travel, sports, restaurants, etc) due to finances, but still don’t consider it being a “poor” upbringing overall. My parents did the best they could with what they had, and I think having limited opportunities actually helped me be more creative with my time.

Anyway, back to the point… when we had them available sometime after getting a microwave, I ate hot dogs like this periodically in elementary school through college.