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 hometoday. 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
eight-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:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
