You may have read this story over and over. It may have played a great role to my everyday living due to the nature of what I do here. Yet I was thinking of me, myself in the coming years...read thru it.
Bank Account
A 92 year old, well poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, hair combed and face shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room, just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happines 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 in 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. Treat with compassion
2. Worry doesn't help
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Say 'yes' to life
2 comments:
Very nice story yet so sad. I wished someone will take care of me when time comes...
very touching story
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