 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
" g+ e7 j: F) ?+ W' ~& f6 Weach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
0 t Z( u: m c- rshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a # t) U/ e$ F9 C; J" s
nursing home today.
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His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 4 Q" _! s; ]3 I" A. F0 i. [
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,
; Z# z3 K$ X7 `& h. K5 t4 ?# rhe smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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* e6 z, o% Q" rAs he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
4 T0 U0 S2 g# K3 l8 {3 r4 v- Cdescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
' ]: |: P4 f6 N g4 fhung on his window. / m* n/ c$ v! t0 D5 k* g
1 N( ~, Z: o0 ~/ U0 z"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having , q/ n- e) H# G4 @2 E0 P5 S
just been presented with a new puppy. 2 p. _. E7 N% \6 O# B( b
# y) e7 p v$ ^/ k \3 \7 B"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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& D, [) V! o5 F+ Q" d"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. ! l3 J( d9 W+ L5 k) N5 f. n8 e
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my ' q- F* c$ k4 Y4 ?/ R/ x
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how * T# C* y: q4 z9 |
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. 7 l( G1 p, R; k/ ?/ w! o1 f+ Z# z
5 {0 O; Y4 {6 n( r$ T" K$ s5 r% J& TI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
; ]* U6 u+ U( v2 @) M3 Dhave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed ; {# H8 l( i4 v) p, p1 }* M8 ~
and be thankful for the ones that do. . |6 a; _$ q* x: k! U
1 w1 i5 x" Q7 x6 @2 D' c0 a) JEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new 6 W" v* d* X! s' F
day and all the happy memories I've stored away. ; a. v- y# P/ Z1 p4 [& Y
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Just for this time in my life. - S9 l7 C4 D+ O1 R
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
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2 g% Q6 U" o# u7 q4 e! R) qSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank % R, b, b, F! i
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
% ~1 d; k: b+ Q0 H" tI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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6 a; {7 {3 k1 c 1. Free your heart from hatred. 0 e% m# T0 E) }. w) n7 H
2. Free your mind from worries.
# l9 D; Y; |, y' B ? 3. Live simply. 6 c5 z4 _; l' T& H, o9 |
4. Give more. 9 [ v$ Y. l) W. {7 `3 }, U
5. Expect less. |
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