In a meeting I heard someone say that what alcoholics call stress, normal people call life! Even in my 26th year I still dislike the saying "life on life's terms" but over time we get the tools to deal with it. It was a big help to try to let go of expectations and to stop projecting. Keeping those two things in check handles most disappointments in life. But it's a process (hate that word too!!). Sometimes one step forward, two steps back.