Looking At Each Day

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 tiny 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 newpuppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room...just wait," I said.
Then she spoke these words that I will never forget:
"That does not 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 difficulty 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 are 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.

I believe-
that our background and circumstances may have influenced
who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I believe-
that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every
once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I believe-
that just because someone doesn't love you the way youwant them to doesn't mean they don't love you with allthey have.
I believe-
that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I believe-
that it's taking me a long time to become the person Iwant to be.
I believe-
that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I believe-
that you can keep going, long after you can't.
I believe-
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I believe-
that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I believe-
that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.
I believe-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I believe-
that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I believe-
that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be
the ones to help you get back up.
I believe-
that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give
me the right to be cruel.
I believe-
that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I believe-
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I believe-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I believe-
that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I believe-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life forever.
I believe-
that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I believe-
that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I believe-
that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you
you will find the strength to help.
I believe-
that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I believe-
that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did And noted that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the Boiling water, they had changed the water. ''Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
This message is for those people who mean something to you; to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life. It's easier to build a child than repair an adult.
May we all be COFFEE BEANS!

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

One old love she can imagine going back to...
and one who reminds her how far she has come...
...enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to...
...something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
...a youth she's content to leave behind...
...a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...
...a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
...one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...
...a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
...eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored..
...a feeling of control over her destiny...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
...how to fall in love without losing herself...
...how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...
...when to try harder... and when to walk away...
...that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...
...that her childhood may not have been perfect... but its over...
...what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
...how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...
...whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...
...where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table... or a charming inn in the woods... when her soul needs soothing...
...what she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year...

9 WORDS WOMEN USE

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)
(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... That will bring on a 'whatever').
(8) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying F' YOU!
(9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.
*Men can avoid arguments, just remember the terminology!!

<3 QUOTES <3

• Women are like the police. They could have all the evidence in the world, BUT they still WANT the CONFESSION!


• A clear conscience is usually a sign of a bad memory!


• As long as the world is turning, we're gonna be dizzy.


• Every door that swings wide for you has somebody on the other side opening it!


• I live by the truth that "NO" is a complete sentence.


• JEALOUSY is all the fun you think they had.