I have a friend who posted on Facebook, of all things, about some rather sad news recently.

My friend and I are close. We've known each other almost ten years. I love being able to say, "I've known them almost ten years." We have history together. We have memories. And with all of that time under our belts, there's no real necessity to talk every day. In fact, we can go weeks or months without talking, pick up the phone and have a conversation like nothing ever changed. I like that.

So tonight, after reading those things, I called my friend. After four rings, I got a voicemail message, which I fully expected. I told them that it appeared that they were going through some things right now, and I was just calling to say, "Do you need somebody to listen?"

That was the best thing I could think of to say.

When I was in middle school, I thought the high schoolers were well-composed. I thought they had their lives figured out. I thought they were mature. When I was in high school, I thought about how silly I was in middle school to think that any high schooler could have anything figured out. At that point, I didn't expect college students to have it figured out either, and I was right. They didn't.

I realize now that when my mom or dad would tell me they didn't know the right answer to my problem - they were telling me the truth. At the time, I thought they were holding the right answer hostage. I thought they wanted me to figure it out.

Turns out they really didn't have a clue either. Nobody really does. We just do the best we can today, and try again tomorrow.