 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
) X& Z( t: y- Eeach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and . j! ]9 t Q- V+ M0 ~2 h$ `5 J
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a " A3 e4 T8 H1 K2 Q" \' W
nursing home today. 5 G, y+ ^1 }7 J
( A: E9 m" V# g: M6 }His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 6 C+ d6 w8 k6 z2 w0 e
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, ) k4 q6 `. J# M8 L' j( x, ] m1 K' S
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
6 O/ `. _! U2 _# adescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
, D: T2 ?* n- H' Q+ h; V1 bhung on his window. 2 b& ~0 q6 B' N4 V8 a9 U
" t. {% T+ h2 A" k4 s"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having ' s* T S5 |$ h1 {. X) u) r! I
just been presented with a new puppy.
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." 7 ^- v% i- i- a+ R# R- A9 u
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.
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6 d1 I( Y9 X" C4 ]"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
9 R1 `1 u# ]( u, j7 q4 Z! l: groom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how 1 W& \1 P* k G
I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it."
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% M# `3 i" N& n, t# e2 PIt's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. ' T5 _, o6 \- S' y+ ^9 z, z
/ ?9 q# \; Y3 H& F. A- J$ K6 d( J! ?I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I : K/ x/ t8 R9 m) K
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
: e3 e, r0 x' v7 @. mand be thankful for the ones that do.
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. n7 m# `/ x$ j: I; E9 d$ ZEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
6 f, y @' P+ e3 |1 U0 x8 K% jday and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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4 k9 `8 j" F. c! pJust for this time in my life. . U! G. z& c; l( y3 D. P7 r
: g3 V. l3 J$ }, m3 {$ {Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. 3 \: u: E. S8 B: X2 V) z4 u
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So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank : u" G% C1 ^8 x8 e1 v
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
U# J$ ], M6 w! N! a" R& XI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: $ v( ]/ Y4 V. H! |( h- f
& F9 z! m4 _3 R8 s- e" {0 g# k 1. Free your heart from hatred.
: T* M; F! Z7 @ 2. Free your mind from worries.
, p! Q# k+ |) o& h- b/ O 3. Live simply.
' `/ c" y% g# H* ? 4. Give more.
* x: r& c9 s7 j 5. Expect less. |
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