鲜花( 29) 鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
9 J0 Y4 D( H- w2 i6 T9 veach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and , n J: t6 t" [9 y1 z, s, G
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
) s# T$ V' g' g+ dnursing home today. 0 y5 u3 |5 o2 U! R) i3 x! ]
+ K/ F3 ]) B2 T8 M4 ], h$ [His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 0 B7 S5 s1 |: A' Q2 W" ^1 Q* F
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, + k$ [7 c" n6 h- ]( Y2 o, y. k
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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" F+ Z1 X+ E5 z2 \As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual ( }1 z4 S, L H
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been ' j) D1 E1 N* ~3 W6 E- M/ U
hung on his window.
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having ; u! w6 A5 h4 Y }. r0 ?
just been presented with a new puppy.
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7 U( M0 g/ |# M8 S"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." 9 P3 q" o# ~5 |3 a# C" A/ j
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. , q% ?4 i, j9 L4 [$ T0 p; H6 X* n
. ?: h4 F0 F8 Q- T1 s5 U, F6 j"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
0 M1 H! [& E+ Zroom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
1 v; U$ E5 { p! A0 }8 H5 y: F+ oI 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. ' `5 f' j% J6 w( z: d, q4 v! s9 r
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I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
6 i) I4 a4 O. ^4 ehave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
6 d" |" B4 S5 u8 F h1 Vand be thankful for the ones that do.
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% y1 Y8 |0 R" H7 HEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new ) O- S3 l* g4 @
day and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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Just for this time in my life.
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! f6 O, x/ }9 n2 b# zOld age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. - d2 m9 t% ]! R) c; D% L& n
7 X, `' w% B6 u+ \! hSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
5 i( T: z5 a0 V/ [- r' f6 waccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
- u9 P7 T8 B0 S- WI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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1. Free your heart from hatred. ' G0 K8 T* X1 d
2. Free your mind from worries.
; `; I! L5 p! H/ H8 i3 x$ Q 3. Live simply.
) f" i. T M3 C# s8 @2 \6 q 4. Give more. 1 S! {6 S( e$ @/ m
5. Expect less. |
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