Adulting Is Hard, Especially with Chronic Illness

Many in my millennial generation dread adulting. The idea of surviving in the real world without the comfort of a family safety net is daunting. Young adults who are barely scraping by can feel alone and isolated.

I was thrust into the world of adulting fairly early. In our mid-20s, my husband and I already have a child of our own and a business to run. Our baby girl is nearly 10 months old and growing up quickly. She waves, plays peek-a-boo, and talks to the cat we’ve adopted. Soon, she’ll be celebrating her milestone first birthday.

As a mom, I feel a variety of emotions. Mainly, I’m grateful for being able to care for her despite our own struggles and my husband’s health concerns. I’m also grateful that she is thriving. But I feel pressure to continue earning, saving, providing, and investing in my family’s future — the future my husband and I envision for our family.

We know that the vision we have is our own. We want to be able to live where we choose and in the way we choose, and to raise our daughter in the manner that we believe is best.

We want a home of our own.

I get discouraged when bills pile up. Regular expenses such as groceries, baby formula, and immunization costs can easily eat up our budget. A chronic illness can throw our budget into chaos. Our time is also important, particularly for productivity in our business. When my husband has a bleed that gets out of control, we’re unable to do as much work as we typically do, and our income suffers.

At times, I wonder if we’ll ever realize our dream of owning our own home. Plenty of obstacles, including the sky-high cost of real estate, will be tough to clear.

But I’m not giving up. I’ll keep working, saving, and investing while focusing on caring for our baby girl. And I trust that my husband will be putting his best foot forward.

After all, it is our dream.

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