 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed 1 K& W6 D) L5 ]4 D0 _
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
0 F8 w) i8 u4 V" Qshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a ( {/ @% j' p1 ?6 \: q- V
nursing home today.
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His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
, L0 b. e* j$ BAfter many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, & Y1 [' _9 D2 z; i4 ?% E$ }$ u8 X
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. 5 }3 _- M3 E% i, ?. x7 Y, t% Y
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As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
- @# I( c: k5 V8 J& N6 rdescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
/ H+ U$ Z) }' ?( V8 b. G* dhung on his window. 3 t3 V2 U& k5 s* ]7 A
! K. v: E0 Y' E"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having 4 [% v2 D/ G0 P( A. f0 _2 K) a
just been presented with a new puppy. + ^3 m+ L& W4 |2 w1 ~
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." ( C2 U7 I% r9 [3 k! |7 z8 X
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. * E, X' B9 E( B- ]
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my 7 C4 \6 \2 U% J/ f, \/ y. k. m# \# p
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
' C* t- M7 W% M$ hI arrange my mind. I already decided to love it." 4 {* l# P3 f% Z( a
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It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
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/ X4 z. n" m4 f# h" ^I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I 8 D# J: m/ Q( ]/ C/ e! Y8 Q
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed % p4 t' q' l3 R4 ]8 }
and be thankful for the ones that do. ; s# E* d/ N/ L" X* e. v
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new % ]# [: s0 z. v% ?/ x1 f
day and all the happy memories I've stored away. ( i6 x. C' f# @' u' w0 ]
; |) j0 p/ d9 o. V( e: \Just for this time in my life.
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5 y+ B" F+ O2 V$ K z5 \/ R" uOld age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. * [- C9 Q e- P! F! A' Q$ N/ `0 F; o
] L5 l& l6 ?4 Y, y6 ?So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank ' `5 j3 q4 o7 j( v
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
: Z9 p0 G4 d7 F/ HI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: ' M$ \2 l2 h# V# g( C& r; C
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1. Free your heart from hatred. . k& F! n1 }& _* ]8 a# B0 l
2. Free your mind from worries.
9 J0 n. |! ] Y9 V/ X1 r 3. Live simply.
7 U- h) A% {+ ?! ^7 P; Y 4. Give more.
T& |/ ?& Z- F0 j" g" }' Y 5. Expect less. |
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