 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
1 M: ^& G b! F% t6 Z* t Z( Xeach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
U0 h; }. c& p5 y0 Jshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
$ r% q6 ?( ]) k) j5 Onursing home today. " g% W3 i$ h# Y0 }1 [
: D, D+ |5 s, yHis wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
3 i% w- H) ^/ m: T0 AAfter many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, ( m* ^- S: K& n
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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- E6 T* M! L! w' ]As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual , m8 v+ _. s3 r, F* ]$ u1 j
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been ; g3 }0 K) t( N. ^' ?& @! P
hung on his window. 5 }7 w$ G9 H# K1 R
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
( `. Z& q* N3 J! V& E3 T$ djust been presented with a new puppy. 8 D% q9 O3 {8 R) S
8 ?. ?' V( t7 u! m d5 u- | w* g; u"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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% P. O; F8 f) `, D% f6 g6 h/ }"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. ) B5 }) e, y) S/ H4 e
k: `1 w* `3 K7 a3 C" ` `"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
* E! o- m7 A# G( g* Q" _2 _room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
3 Y8 X1 V S& K7 JI arrange my mind. I already decided to love it." $ ~/ w, T( y @3 A+ S' F# _) G
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It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
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I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I + M5 Y- u3 J+ J
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
2 \( J* w! ^9 {7 g' s4 qand be thankful for the ones that do. - V: u; t" G* {, |
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new # y& X! ~5 E" B# u( |3 s$ P" G. F
day and all the happy memories I've stored away. ; f3 I* `7 ^3 m) ~- v2 e5 e. O
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Just for this time in my life.
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Old 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 ) H4 b0 f) x+ W5 V" c6 s% @
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
% v) c+ q6 b* _7 Y. Z8 ]0 q( f8 YI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy: o6 C7 X" l0 \' L- B
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1. Free your heart from hatred.
1 p+ M7 r4 f: T; A7 [$ H" ] 2. Free your mind from worries. + y) v6 X% {( R
3. Live simply.
9 G3 p( X) L5 t j9 D4 {9 I 4. Give more. ( h' i0 f6 T6 l3 ]' J
5. Expect less. |
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