These are the best of times!

I quote Charles Dickens, "These are the best and the worst of times..." Luckily I have children who can redirect this mothers earring memory - didn't Dickens write "A Tale of Two Cities"? As per my memory this may become a tale of two families, joined by marriage.
The journey of each family was similar and the joining of the families has become history. "It is the best of times" because I can think, feel and express myself. "It is the worst of times", because life is fragile and we have only one chance as we journey through life here on earth.