The old lady, who was fully dressed, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied. She was legally blind and moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After several 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, the director of the nursing home provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.
“I love it,” the old lady 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.”
Life is like having 2 bank accounts – one you withdraw from what you’ve put in; the other one you keep depositing happy memories.