 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
2 X8 l: g: {6 S/ Deach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and $ Q' d& u5 I4 k* A4 b# J4 ?
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
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# B6 t. h ?6 Z5 t& m" l2 H+ ~His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
2 Y* W) q$ {* ~; ]3 f" ^After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, ( L! ?! o8 n0 I5 v/ O, k( s
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual 2 l5 I! P P. Y, z% F( {5 ]* @/ Q( z
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
: R# N0 \6 C+ A* Z* thung on his window. : @9 F# \( t6 I+ x+ U
% k! [ }. ?( ]! p+ |- I"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having & w- ^+ J/ K+ u8 Q" x
just been presented with a new puppy.
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." $ V8 \% E( ]. b% |* ]
7 ?! g6 o7 V6 r2 a2 @"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. " y l. _% }/ ?4 y! P
* W1 P8 L4 ]7 z9 `"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my . o' P6 q4 {' N9 X
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how 1 }2 L' W3 l( e
I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it."
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It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
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5 F: l& H. S P7 `8 e' OI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
7 x3 m2 O$ F. dhave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed 9 ^- F; p+ v% P3 t7 C- ]
and be thankful for the ones that do. 2 i! F0 z- g& g* C: }
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
$ j# _0 @+ H9 \; {( rday and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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5 c0 s( x3 j' v- ~% d% z) wJust for this time in my life. ( B2 ? c$ g: c
5 V- P1 j L0 v5 a- u2 t# XOld age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. S( s! C) q% c, I* M* i
/ e: G$ g9 _& f' M" \3 p. r/ ]So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
6 n4 i, V7 b# S( Xaccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. 6 K7 ~% N' y* C0 T! k7 v
I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: % }6 \' W, N; |4 g
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1. Free your heart from hatred. 5 Q) v7 H6 {" R9 b1 X. d9 ~; r# J- l; G
2. Free your mind from worries. ! L6 u/ f0 y" T; E3 P4 f' |) A
3. Live simply. ( d8 P! P( {3 n1 I; l. p$ r& i
4. Give more. + [/ O/ t3 K k3 J! {% e
5. Expect less. |
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