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The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who
is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair
fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is
legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years
recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,
she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her
walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny
room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.
"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is
something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not
doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged.. it's how I arrange my
mind. I already decided to love it ... "It's a decision I make every
morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed
recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no
longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time
in my life.
Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in
.. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the
bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my Memory
bank. I am still depositing.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
Lesson Thoughts
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