You know, it’s not so much the
cards life deals you, but rather what you do with them. This was really driven home to me by Mrs.
Ellie, a new resident of one of the nursing homes I used to oversee for Baton
Rouge General Medical Centers.
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who was 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 our nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 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 just love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Ellie, 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.”
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