 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed + Z- V5 h! G, e/ B4 t
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and % } D: X/ s* b- d
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a : T% o5 z7 T/ o6 C$ t5 s8 s Y
nursing home today.
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His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
; M& B4 Z& z1 N U, |. hAfter many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, + w r( s) M F6 R! A
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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* z; _# \( J% o" J, z* mAs he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
3 T" v/ ^: I. P. Gdescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been ; p! _$ n! m! l9 m( Y& T( ]: x
hung on his window. ( T0 C4 y2 o/ a! \# A }
* P8 g8 M; W" q1 g& Y"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
" ] G! O& `+ W% T: d1 d$ M+ fjust been presented with a new puppy. : c3 d+ |- B6 }0 i2 o* c
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." ! T- ]( F5 ?9 w6 P0 D6 H9 J
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. . p0 N2 y9 F' @0 y; C M
% m; V% c6 ~0 Z5 B. k9 P"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my 6 s, x1 V! A0 R. A. F/ f
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how 6 o' y+ v! n$ n- G9 R
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. - p8 A4 b4 M s7 t
, Q% e9 d( c8 K5 nI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I 5 d& C" W9 Z z- L/ s5 U2 T+ m
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
* z, f, V) t0 Mand be thankful for the ones that do.
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1 D9 H6 J0 y2 ~, A' UEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new 9 Q& q# J: Z2 G$ s, o5 W
day and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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3 p% z8 @: o* o2 @ }! M0 W4 uJust for this time in my life. 1 i& f- y |) {0 l+ E( P, B/ S4 m
7 j j5 ~0 g, B S: P( W: r/ jOld age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
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So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
- ~- U( m# m1 Taccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. 3 O U2 N5 _+ \3 N# K* T0 x
I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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1. Free your heart from hatred. , H' y* m6 T1 [7 g5 l
2. Free your mind from worries.
) s& o6 k* N/ M L7 U4 q+ p2 Y 3. Live simply.
7 i7 `0 ~' h7 E, h 4. Give more. ( r9 [, U% Z: _
5. Expect less. |
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