 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
4 o7 O3 _7 d* P3 _. E1 U2 d8 {each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and 7 E1 t' b, ^; M9 t/ Z6 y1 ?' L
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a ' d1 O6 x+ Y+ y8 J9 n6 w6 L
nursing home today.
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; U! ?3 e$ C; HHis wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. - D$ q+ t' F6 z/ `3 v. _' W
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,
s3 w, f [9 {0 W+ ^& a4 R0 yhe smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. 8 M; O4 a9 q1 o1 W
. b1 k" I* _2 E$ f/ V" |$ _As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
' `% J: D O9 @1 Kdescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been Q& m% A" `2 u) g0 j
hung on his window.
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' {) i; b/ k3 W: T" Z"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having 5 ]5 d9 p, U( ~" _' K
just been presented with a new puppy. 0 C! f. ?: \( {6 b) }5 h
+ |4 a% N" b# @# x"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. 4 y" r" k$ p! ?% {: {3 f8 p; I6 a
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
# {9 q S$ U& ^9 i" Y- _room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how / u# L! A6 b, I0 B2 j; ^8 F
I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it."
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* ]7 Z% P0 W& d: m! bIt's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. , M ]% U9 a5 d+ L! B! B/ h. t
& I5 A9 G5 L" v5 }: U) T! zI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I " S) V. G2 Q9 E+ _
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
t) J1 R8 s. b4 H) c% V7 q7 r; oand be thankful for the ones that do. + N1 M3 x( l+ ]2 S; o
" a3 R8 O& z8 n- R* M6 p7 wEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new * e$ z# w1 y( Z! G; l4 c+ V0 p; C
day and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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- j, r5 t. r1 k8 h, t2 p4 H: QJust for this time in my life.
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. ) w4 M! J" e: I4 K/ q% m1 |& `
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So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank , ?- F ~: W9 L: e
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
; u. |. q( g7 CI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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1. Free your heart from hatred.
0 O( _9 A; J; s4 ] 2. Free your mind from worries. , C! A+ a5 e. Q3 r3 @& ~- i
3. Live simply.
0 g8 C& t& x4 l( p9 \/ J6 G 4. Give more. + ?" D' L4 K( W8 x S4 \
5. Expect less. |
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