I shaped kids' lives for poverty wages and have no retirement - how do I face this?

You helped form a whole generation in their most important years, and you did it for wages that never came close to matching the worth of the work. Now you are aging out with a tired body, an empty retirement account, and real pride all at once. Every part of that is true, and it is fair to feel the weight of the injustice in it. But do not let the empty account tell you the work was worth little. You shaped how children see the world, trust, and learn, things that ripple through their whole lives and into the lives they touch. That is not erased by a system that underpaid you. The pay was unjust. The value was immense. Hold that difference firmly. Now let yourself receive care the way you gave it. Look into every support you can find, programs, benefits, help you may have been too proud or too busy to seek. Ask one person this week what is available to you. You spent your life making sure small ones were not neglected. You are allowed to make sure the same for yourself.