 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
7 q+ [0 ~2 h3 w" J) I6 h* {7 j2 ]+ _each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
% ?% o/ e! K' B5 C p# e% O' Ushaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
- F3 r4 a0 X# \8 F7 ^nursing home today. ! c# K% c% c1 n( K
9 e3 P; N0 J/ k" ?His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. . v4 i: |; r, L1 [# ~# x
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, 1 d; f% Y9 A+ f: r" T! K9 {; ~/ A: f
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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5 l0 O; \7 p& m5 T8 Y9 xAs he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
. }1 b; |7 A. P0 y$ Idescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
4 l- z+ f! G- m8 n, J) K4 _% ghung on his window.
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
: v; W/ a. V2 Ljust been presented with a new puppy. * O$ i3 o+ D5 j, q! F# I% L
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"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.
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my ; F4 B, K$ i$ G7 v4 C, m4 M
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how ! J9 a$ E" I. V
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. $ g- T* Y3 h V1 c# T
" [1 n2 e% x/ r/ K* x2 r" FI have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I 4 n% \6 ~7 z7 B% ^# W
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed + t4 b5 L7 b$ E6 g [+ G1 U
and be thankful for the ones that do.
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
1 t" P) U6 ~( {- m0 a4 dday and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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Just for this time in my life.
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7 o3 {6 b, P+ T& z3 F* K$ }Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
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9 d) L% F" I4 iSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank ; m6 d3 }6 ^/ v
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. . V9 ]/ Y2 ]$ J% L3 I1 K' b
I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: 7 ^) n4 V' k& V. r7 F5 P
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1. Free your heart from hatred. 2 M# z6 F# @* i1 f) t' l8 {3 Q+ o7 H4 N
2. Free your mind from worries. & H S$ ^; i* n
3. Live simply. 0 M/ e/ s5 `+ z( V8 }. A
4. Give more. 8 ]7 ^. X; \! p) K5 k: F
5. Expect less. |
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