Happiness

The ninety-two year old sister, well poised and proud
Fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock
Hair fashionably coiled and coifed.
Even though she is legally blind
Moved to a nursing home today
Her husband of seventy years passed away
Making the move necessary.

After hours of waiting patiently in the lobby
She smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she struggled with her walker to the elevator
I provided a visual description of her tiny room.
I love it, she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight year old
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 have already decided to love it.

It’s a decision I make every morning with my God.
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 from God
And as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day
And all the memories I’ve stored away
Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account.
You withdraw from what you have put in,
So my advice to you would be to deposit
A lot of happiness in the bank account of memories.

Thank you, my sister, for your part
In filling my memory bank.
I am still depositing.