Attitude
How Is Yours?
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud mother-in-law of my best friend,
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. Maurine Jones is the most lovely, gracious, dignified woman that
I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. While I have never aspired to attain
her depth of wisdom, I do pray that I will learn from her vast experience.
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.
What a wonderful way to begin the day and depending
on Christ and "seeking those things which are above."
Colossians 3:1
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."
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Cheri cheripape@worldnet.att.net
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