With two children out of high school, I find my house filled by a lot of twenty-somethings. The way they proudly state themselves to be adults, then two seconds later often lament about how hard their life is cracks me up. Finally, yesterday I said, “You know, having struggles is part of life.”

“You mean this won’t end as I get older?”

“Not really.”

She had such a forlorn look on her face, I feared she might jump from the nearest tall building if my small town had any tall buildings to speak of. Thank goodness we don’t. I decided it best to try and soften the reality blow I’d just landed on her head.

“Look, just because struggles are a part of life doesn’t mean it’s all terrible. We often grow the most when we overcome really challenging things. It’s the purest sense of accomplishment you’ll ever get to feel. And remembering those highs can help you face whatever will come next. I guess the struggles do kind of get easier over time, because with enough experience you’ll start to realize everything eventually passes. So you keep plugging ahead.”

“That doesn’t sound like fun.”

“Life is what you make of it,” I said. “I have found moments to laugh hysterically, even when terrible things were happening around us, like my husband being out of work for six months. Our attitude is more than half the battle, and I chose to see my life like a rollercoaster. Yes, there are ups and downs, but oh how I still love the speed of a rollercoaster and the way my tummy rises a falls. I just figure the harder the climb I have to go through means the bigger hill on the other side and I get to fly down for a time.”