- Jun 1, 2004
- 3,007
- 83
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The small, well-poised and alert 92-year-old, who is up and dressed each morning by eight o'clock with her hair nicely coiffed even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently died, making the move necessary. After an hour of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled when I told her that her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I described her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window.
"I love it!" she said.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't even 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."
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still making deposits.
Remember the five simple rules to being happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less (this is the hard one)
Her husband of 70 years recently died, making the move necessary. After an hour of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled when I told her that her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I described her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window.
"I love it!" she said.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't even 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."
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still making deposits.
Remember the five simple rules to being happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less (this is the hard one)
