Each Day Is A Gift

[Guest guest]

Each Day Is A Gift

 

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 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. "

 

 

 

She went on to explain, " 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. " And with

 

a smile, she said:

 

 

" 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. "

7:22 AM 5/5/2009