2 . As usual, Lily bought expensive gifts for her children Alice and Peter before Christmas. Her job kept her busy, and she _________ got to see her children during weekdays. Being a mother, she always wanted to be _________ her children, but she placed her _________ first, thinking earning money was more important.

Lily _________ the gifts in secret and decided to give them a day before Christmas since she had to attend a business meeting the next day. _________, a day later, the meeting got canceled. Lily was _________ she could spend Christmas with her family. Therefore, she decided to _________ a party. Lily sent _________ to all her friends and her father-in-law, Michael. Lily was worried her friends would not feel _________ in the presence of aged people. Later that day, her children noticed the gifts she had bought. Unexpectedly, neither of them seemed __________ to open the gifts.

On Christmas Eve, Lily __________ her friends into her house. However, she felt __________ when she saw Michael walking in. On arrival, Michael gave Alice and Peter presents—some cookie molds (模具)! The two kids ran happily to their grandfather and showed great __________ for his gifts, asking him to bake cookies with them.

All the guests present were moved by the scene. Lily __________ all they want is their parents’ time and __________ not what their parents buy them.

3 . With a broad smile on her lips, 15-year-old Sirin rushed to her mom to show off her new painting. But her mom raised her eyebrows, and spoke in a hushed tone, “Shh... honey.. don’t shout. I am busy with a(n) ________ talk.”

Holding her oil painting, she ________ and then searched for her dad. “Dad, see what I have done,” Sirin announced aloud in a(n) ________ voice. Her dad smiled and just patted her on back lovingly, saying, “No time, baby. I’m late for work.”

Hearing this, she stormed off to her own bedroom, slammed the door and ________ herself on her bed, sobbing. When her mom was calling her for dinner, Sirin arrived late deliberately. She kept silent, ________ the table mat with her nail. Her mom was puzzled at the ________ behavior. Suddenly, the morning ________ clicked in her mind. Softly, she asked, “Honey, did we do anything wrong?”

At this very moment, Sirin could no longer ________ her anger. “Why is everybody so busy?” she roared, tears streaming down. She assumed that, ________ ignoring her like others in her school, her mom and dad would appreciate her painting, but they were no ________. Shocked, mom threw her arms around her tightly, announcing ________ and firmly, “Baby, I am so sorry!”

When back from school the next day, Sirin was surprised to see her beautifully-decorated ________ on the wall. It was beautifully framed and just below the painting, it read, “Honey, we are really proud of you!” ________ her parents’ stress from daily routine, she felt sorry about her previous behavior. She ________ her head and apologized.

8 . My father was the kind of guy who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with new best friends for life! He was a hard worker and was known as “Mr Fix-It” to everyone. He was also one of the most cheerful, affable (和葛可亲的) and gentle people you would ever meet, which made us, his beloved daughters feel proud.

But when Dad was in his fifties, my family began to notice him struggling. His work and skills began to become worse and worse, and he became depressed and withdrawn. This was not the man I knew. At the age of fifty-eight, Dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. As for our family, it was the worst.

Our first step was to attend a meeting hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association to learn more about the disease and programs that might help us. That meeting inspired me to start a Walk to End Alzheimer’s^® team. But I still wanted to do more. In 2017, I became a board member of the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter.

The loss from this disease is gradual. My father’s decline continued for several years. Losing my father more and more each day was leaving a big hole in my heart and my life. I decided to fill that hole with action to honor my father.

That’s why I recently decided to leave a gift to the Alzheimer’s Association by naming it as a beneficiary of my retirement plan. My future gift will provide money to support research because I don’t want another person in my family or someone in other families to have to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

I am so proud to be able to honor my father and other family members who lost their fights to Alzheimer’s in this way. My dad was an inspiration to me, and I hope, through my gift, I can inspire others to join in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.