A story forwarded over the Internet
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably
coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years
recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As
she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that
had been hung on her window.
"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an 8-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room, .... Just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like
my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love
it.
"It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty
I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is
a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this
time in my life.
"Old age is like a bank account .... You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot
of happiness in the bank account of memories."
Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank. I am still depositing. Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
- Free your heart from hatred.
- Free your mind from worries.
- Live simply.
- Give more.
- Expect less.
