 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed ' K8 ?" M8 G6 T' W6 |- n
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and ~0 E0 j4 |( t1 u
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
+ Z: w- ?- k2 Y& E: ~5 |3 H4 [: f4 bnursing home today.
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0 }9 b; K3 M1 v; O" U# ]His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. ! e0 D1 i- z: y
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,
9 j. d6 ]9 q% B2 v1 hhe smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. ; g4 t" G3 O* O, b4 X$ Y0 i
& S) X+ S4 f, j; o( {& D8 q& ?* ?As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual ; ?; y O5 O; e
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been 1 c8 X! H( g% `
hung on his window.
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' Z1 I) {+ `* j"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
, m; P3 x9 {% \+ |# D, {" }# wjust been presented with a new puppy.
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3 _5 E$ c) W9 J/ `"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. . Y. b/ `5 q G3 D! E
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
9 c/ l& N1 E! i' R1 j6 Nroom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
% ~, a& Q8 [# c- b" E9 LI arrange my mind. I already decided to love it." 3 B5 _3 y* N' y; e
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It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. 4 A+ B5 A* j) _$ j" S1 `
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I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
/ `) R0 F$ _* `9 k; Yhave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed ! k: N+ n3 M# M
and be thankful for the ones that do.
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new " `( ~6 J; K3 l- F0 z$ I
day and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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( x1 p" m" Q) MJust for this time in my life. 6 \! w* ]. y' a1 l
* n+ D7 Y; W* t) Y& u1 ]8 W' GOld age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. 3 a4 K( B9 S' x
" _4 y& C$ t" }; \" JSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
1 C% f: m. v8 Q2 P4 n- F" Laccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
, w/ {; r4 c9 h: X4 u' h: f2 c0 PI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: $ t* F) I# Q3 y8 L6 `. @
9 n! M1 M, `2 \& d- A( M 1. Free your heart from hatred. ' @: N- ?* }# r% @' j
2. Free your mind from worries.
. i# b5 Z2 H Z! T, s 3. Live simply. 6 K. f0 s5 X0 T/ @3 z
4. Give more.
Q% P, [" u5 @# N9 ~ 5. Expect less. |
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