1 . In 2022, my 4-year-old son, Tyler, needed to have a serious surgery (手术). My wife and I took him to Children’s Hospital.

There were a lot of worries in our hearts in the waiting room. When a nurse called us to the doctor’s office, our _______ only grew. A young doctor told us that he would perform the surgery and began to _______ what the process (过程) would be and all the risks of a surgery like this. My mind went to the _______ possible result. I just couldn’t help but feel like: What was I going to do if I _______ my son?

But he then did something that was very _______. He looked us both in the eye, put a hand on each one of our shoulders and said, “Your son is my son.” I will never _______ that because that sent a calm through me. What he said was very helpful and meaningful.

After the surgery, he _______ to us, looked us once again in the eye and said, “Our son is just fine, and you could see him here in a few minutes.”

I can’t tell you how _______ we both were for having him there and for what he said to us. I’ll never forget that doctor. And to this day, anytime I have a chance to volunteer or donate to Children’s Hospital, I’ll make sure I’m one of the first ones in line. I hope that I have the _______ of seeing him again someday to thank him for his ________ words.

2 . When Halloween arrives, you know there is bound to be some mischief (恶作剧). So I wasn’t entirely surprised when I opened my front door that night to see my candy bowl completely—and very suddenly—_________. To be fair, this was after some light rain had _________ the street of most trick-or-treaters and the youngest had already made the rounds. I never saw who took it, but I did shout “Happy Halloween!” into the night air.

Was a candy theft ideal? Nope. But, hey, we all make _________—especially as kids. What did _________ me was what appeared in front of my door the next evening: a plastic bag filled with the lost candy. Stuck to it was the following handwritten note:

“Hello, I am the kid that took all of your candy. After thinking it over I want to _________. Because it was late and no one else was out, I thought it was OK. It was not. I took the candy before you said it was _________. So, I am sorry, and I’d like to give the candy back. Maybe you can give it to a kid who is more _________.”

A tiny Halloween miracle! I have never been prouder of a kid who wasn’t mine. I assume a parent had something to do with this sudden reflective _________, but I’ll never know for sure.

What I do hope is that this kid knows how good it can feel to _________ a wrong. I hope they don’t think they’re bad—simply that they made a not-so-great choice. They do deserve to get their fill and have fun and run wild. __________, next year they’ll come back for more.

3 . I still remember the day when I came home from work at two o’clock one afternoon. Imagine my _______ when I heard my daughter Megan and her friend Joann laughing in the house since it was the right time for class. They finally _______ that they came home for lunch and never returned to school. But they said they had forgotten to look at the clock.

I told Joann to go home because I needed to speak to Megan _______. When Joann left, I _______myself and managed to ask Megan very quietly, “You forgot to look at the clock?” Megan lowered her head and said, “Well, we were just experimenting to see what it would feel like not to go back to school.” For the moment I was getting angry. I considered _______ her, but instead I said, “I’m very upset by all this. When you’re supposed to be in school, that’s _______ I expect you to be. Now I’m probably going to get a phone call from your teacher.” Megan said, “ Write me an absence note, say I was sick and then you won’t get a call.” I said, “Megan，the note has to come from you and it has to be the _______.”

Well, she wasn’t very _____ about that, but she did write a note saying she was just “experimenting” and that she wouldn’t do it again.

Although the teacher gave her a _______ time over the note, I still felt I did the right thing. I knew I had helped Megan face up to what she did and take ________.