 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
& l' p( }, }0 Aeach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
% H% E% R3 ]8 a& u7 r0 C; k( Ushaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
3 N) W0 `8 c1 c$ `! v$ @2 L* |nursing home today.
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|$ P- q0 _8 r: a% ]' {His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. $ i' L& |( Q" v
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, 5 p; t! W8 U5 I& w: w% h- l% W
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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$ o6 X' |4 M3 J yAs he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual ! X! e v% ]4 _* D5 ~
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
8 c% p! N- C- T8 \ A/ M5 r9 E* P! Phung on his window. 7 {+ T4 z& t8 l/ |. p* t4 G
; c% }# R/ T1 B* J+ {"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
* F% N( D/ z# E$ v( a5 xjust been presented with a new puppy. 4 u8 ]3 T6 l2 }. n
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." ^# P6 [) a4 C
- |6 }8 c9 i) J& T% i# g"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. ) D0 l! ~2 l: z9 G- _3 j" O" S2 u
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
7 B5 k( r+ O! @: j# zroom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how ' ` x) L2 q/ ?( d4 o9 w* P I
I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it." & G1 O2 A1 Z1 A1 Q
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It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. & }( v! n; Y3 G
! I* ~3 \/ a( _" I8 B* lI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I 3 s; i. a) `& B* F# C
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
9 S: ]8 V6 R* K, h9 J# Land be thankful for the ones that do.
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$ i( u3 n3 c% `! Z7 Z' [% x( E$ yEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
/ S+ k y b! `3 x+ o- t4 _day and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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d! G2 ]; H3 ?8 hJust for this time in my life. / o5 [" ^0 l6 g7 T5 \. @: w m
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. & s! D* x4 S) {- H+ g' D9 F
: X% X/ s8 K; t$ r5 f1 ]+ ySo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
f, v- ?$ e& I/ v3 N1 k" v [account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
- l. A* r3 O$ O8 e2 M9 V$ K1 Z7 v+ u2 ZI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: ' P! m2 o/ @, c2 ?$ l% P
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1. Free your heart from hatred.
* Z8 b% K' C% M* L! b9 p 2. Free your mind from worries.
) w; g" m+ f& c7 t! k 3. Live simply.
' h2 I! L! y4 Q) X0 b4 Z 4. Give more. 2 E" e F% e) [* F% w- C0 |, ^& n* X
5. Expect less. |
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