Let's consider an apple on a table. My friend asked me why the normal force from the table is not the counterforce to the gravity pulling the apple down.
I explained that the actual counterforce is the apple pulling the Earth up.
Then he asked what's the counterforce for the upwards normal force from the table then.

Fuck. I thought I had these basics figured out, but I don't know that. It's like the counterforce is the apple pushing down on the table, but wouldn't this essentially be the exact same thing as the gravitational pull experienced by the apple? I can't explain two different interactions with this same force.