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. 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."
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