The 92-year-old, small, poised, and proud woman, who, despite being legally blind, is always dressed and ready to go by eight in the morning and has her hair styled and makeup applied to perfection, moved to a nursing facility today.
Her 70-year-old husband suddenly passed away, necessitating the relocation. After spending a long time patiently waiting in the nursing home lobby, she was notified that her room was ready, and she gave a beautiful smile.
I gave her a visual depiction of her cramped room, including the eyelet sheets that had been draped over her window, as she maneuvered her walker to the elevator.
She said, with the joy of an eight-year-old who had just been given a new dog, “I love it.”
“Wait, Mrs. Jones; you haven’t seen the room yet.”
She retorted, “That has nothing to do with anything.”
“Happiness is a choice you make in advance. It is how I arrange my mind, not how the furniture is placed, that determines whether or not I like my space.”
“Already made up my mind to adore it. Every morning when I wake up, I make the choice. I can either stay in bed all day complaining about how difficult it is to use the parts of my body that still work, or I can get out of bed and express gratitude for the ones that do.”
“Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes are open, I’ll concentrate on the fresh day and all the joyful memories I’ve tucked away just for this time in my life,” she said.
“Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in,” she continued. “Therefore, I would advise you to make a lot of happy deposits into your bank account of memories. I appreciate you helping me to fill my memory vault. I’m continuing to make deposits.”
And with a smile, she said: “Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
- Free your heart from hatred.
- Free your mind from worries.
- Live simply.
- Give more.
- Expect less”
