Marriage makes life better

At least, a lot of young single women (and maybe men) seem to think so.  They believe that once they get married, life will be just grand.  Let's examine this thought a little more deeply.  As a single person, I have one set of problems: my own.  I know my problems, I know my reactions, my resources, and my ability to deal with these issues.  I also have control over my reactions.  Money troubles?  I can control how much I spend and how much I make (to a certain extent).  Someone's dirty socks are on the floor?  No problem, they're my socks, I left them there, and if they bother me I can pick them up.  I'm grumpy?  It's OK, there's no one at home to be impacted by my bad mood.

On the other hand, married people have two sets of problems - his and hers.  Wait, make that three sets - his, hers, and theirs.  But each partner still only has control over themselves.  So if there are money troubles, I can reduce my spending but can't control what he spends.  And if I do something silly that causes those money problems (say, for example, get lots of speeding tickets), my actions impact more than just me.  And I am similarly impacted by my spouse's actions. 

Not only does marriage bring in other people's problems to my life and reduce the amount of control I have to remedy those problems, it can make you look weird and do silly things, like this.

So how can multiple sets of problems be better than just one set of problems?  Because even though you may have more problems, you've also got more resources to throw at those problems.  Instead of one person worrying about things, you've got two.  And you know the saying, two heads are better than one.  And if I get grumpy, there is someone there to help me be happy.  Of course, there is also someone there to make me grumpier.  Oh wait, I have control over how grumpy I am.  In situations where the problem can't be fixed, or in times of sadness, or times of great joy, there is someone to share the feelings with.  There is someone there to play with and consult with and to look weird and be silly with.  And of course, there's someone there to kill the spiders you don't want to deal with.  So maybe marriage can be better than single life.