The Best is yet to be

Yesterday's blog was on a somber note, but today I will expound on a more optimistic viewpoint. I quote Robert Browning who wrote "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be, the last of life for which the first was made."
Really? How can that be? Aches and pains, irregular heart beats, falls and fractures, failing memory?
And yet, in many ways it is better now. My husband and I used to argue energetically and acrimoniously over every little and big decision. Did the children really need braces on their teeth? Should our daughter take ballet lessons? Could we afford to take the dog to the veterinarian? How about new drapes for the living room?
Things are easier now. We eliminated the arguments by a simple strategy. I now get my own way in everything. Not fair, you cry. That leaves your husband out of all of the decisions. But consider our circumstances. We used to argue about money. Ninety-nine percent of our arguments concerned how to spend our joint income. Naturally, since my husband is of a frugal disposition, he never wanted to spend any. Since I am of a generous and adventurous disposition, I naturally wanted to spend it all and let the future take care of itself. Now there is no reason for arguments, since we have no disposable income to argue about - it all goes where it goes and we pay no attention to it. The dogs, which used to be the subject of many opposing views, have died and all we have left is a very old and feeble cat. Nothing to argue about there. We are left with a paucity of arguable subjects, the main one being communication. We simply cannot communicate with each other. We can't hear one another.
A recent conversation went like this:
Husband, looking out window, says "Is there someone at the gate?"
Wife, not wearing her hearing aid, replies, "Summer can't be late. It's fall now."
Husband, peering out of window again: "Did someone fall? I can't see anyone now."
We each insert into the thought process whatever we think we hear. It makes for some pretty funny conversation. The other day my husband asked me if I thought he had a cancer on his nose. I replied that I didn't see anything wrong with the rose. One day I thought he told me that there was a hanger on the stove. We substitute one word for another, and forget everything that isn't written down.
But believe it or not, things have never been better. We are secure in our little house, we have a fixed but adequate income and we never have to worry about unplanned pregnancies or wayward teenagers. We let the parents worry about their own children and we take care of the cat. This is indeed the best of life for which the first was made.