 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed " B; v; n& O0 {
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
& f/ s# K" F! o; Rshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a o- H: x0 y6 g1 j4 i f
nursing home today.
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4 w1 G. D" Z1 r7 f5 DHis wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 0 f/ d3 K+ [/ @
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,
2 V' \. u+ p* G6 M, x( Fhe smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. ! U5 K" Z+ }4 r" c5 B, U
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As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
# m. Y3 ~: O) Odescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
# `8 V6 w1 F( R. Zhung on his window. . C. J; z$ Z& i# h) j( ^
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
- [( X; d& z6 t5 ?, ijust been presented with a new puppy. 7 e5 q- ]& N; z* C0 @! J# z" _' g
" g3 |, }0 O- N"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." 0 Q* {7 i C! T8 k' g
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. # W$ r2 ]- Y2 {7 M+ |
" l# P: L1 N0 k7 e"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
' Z* l+ ^6 \; aroom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how # W' S7 U+ h4 E8 {+ s) _) U$ h% G
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. 6 \7 o$ ^0 O3 Q) G b' x- C4 z9 Y
" c* |8 L& p' Z- K8 WI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I ) ? y t9 c1 o" w T7 s8 c
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed & ~& v/ b8 c5 Q0 M5 J
and be thankful for the ones that do.
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0 b; d% V9 Q8 {- g. AEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new 0 R6 M9 K N& } L( u& \
day and all the happy memories I've stored away. % j& _/ B* o, z
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Just for this time in my life. 5 _5 g$ g$ ^7 z/ _( ^2 t
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. 2 l* l" F2 t5 C
. {$ p0 X$ a5 J' bSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
8 r1 K9 m9 M' _$ qaccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
0 k7 {2 I) q9 \6 }* e( }; AI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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3 E0 }+ y5 q* ?+ T5 K5 s6 q& M 1. Free your heart from hatred.
9 O2 t9 Y) [$ T. T" h 2. Free your mind from worries. , y7 E1 D8 c1 E7 M5 o2 N
3. Live simply. * Q3 Z" D' i6 U7 k9 k
4. Give more. $ D' G2 W" N8 { q0 I c5 V
5. Expect less. |
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