She is 92 years old, petite, well-poised and proud. She is fully dressed each
morning by eight o'clock with her hair fashionably coifed and her makeup
perfectly applied in spite of the fact she is legally blind.
Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently
passed away, making this move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently
in the lobby of the nursing home, where I am employed, she smiled sweetly when
told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description
of her room, including the eyelet curtains 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," I said. Then
she spoke these words that I will never forget:
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she gently replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room
or not does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my
mind. I have already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning
when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the diffi-
culty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get out of
bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift; and as long
as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy memories I
have stored away.....just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank
account. You withdraw from what you have already put in."
