 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed ( Q J% Z: D5 T; e( v
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and + e* N2 o+ W, F' O5 \& t
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
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His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. & h& R0 I/ I0 W: X: ?3 c
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, : v# ]& I: |. N% y
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. - h: U* j! a, i2 d
7 D, l% v U$ @, [$ u1 P5 X8 nAs he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual $ ~. h( x. o N
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been 4 g& Q1 h! Z/ W4 p
hung on his window. - U8 Y* V. C8 U4 l
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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# Y6 J. q* R9 N; T! ["That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.
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9 S3 c5 Q# Q* i; d9 }& }/ L* x"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my 2 K {- Y& r& A0 \
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
* n1 e+ J$ n( p/ z' pI arrange my mind. I already decided to love it."
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& }" y. L! }7 T+ z! V" \: H; z) GIt's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. & h( k+ K; E& t6 _$ m* \! T
0 I. n [! U3 n+ @4 vI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
3 L5 R6 {" O5 x( t- I! d! s L8 Nhave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed . f3 `* Y/ A3 k/ k; _! \1 J1 ?3 G* F
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
1 T6 @" ?; v+ l. x) qday and all the happy memories I've stored away. ! h- m4 O+ ~# d# i. E
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Just for this time in my life. * o) n8 _- }: i1 w7 @' v
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. ' q* l0 L0 y" L. j1 `# K* U, U
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So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank 0 B4 ~( w1 X) T( z' C; @, U9 X; u
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. ; Z9 q4 d& ~$ t6 }0 C( J
I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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1. Free your heart from hatred. * @8 a; @/ U! P; h8 [
2. Free your mind from worries. - W& z. N$ H6 F
3. Live simply.
' \' `) e# E- a O: w0 M 4. Give more. . T& y$ z) X- n0 X1 I& B) F
5. Expect less. |
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