1 . When Schauna Austin was 20 years old, she lost her husband in a car crash. Unable to raise a baby alone, she made a difficult decision during pregnancy — to place her baby for adoption. She gave birth to a child she named Riley, and held him for 72 hours straight. “It was perfect,” Austin said, holding her new baby. “I knew I would have him for a short time, so I made every minute count. I didn’t sleep for three days until the time came to let him go.”

Her Riley became another family’s Steven. Like most closed adoptions, a firewall went up between Austin and Steven’s new parents — no communication whatsoever. But that only lasted about a week. Adoptive mother Jennifer Schoebinger and her husband, Chris Schoebinger, said they had no interest in excluding the birth mother. “You know, you can’t have too many people loving you, right? Why couldn’t he be both of ours?” Chris Schoebinger said.

So, year after year, they sent Austin piles of pictures and bound books detailing Steven’s every major and minor milestones. The Schoebingers said they did this so that when Austin and their son were ready, they could pick up right where they left off. The two reunited when Steven was 7 years old. Austin taught him how to fish, and they have kept in contact ever since. Austin felt blessed beyond words, and Steven felt he got the best of both worlds.

Steven is now 26, married, and with a baby boy of his own. Much to the delight of Austin, he named the child Riley. “I think the lesson we learned is that sometimes we create barriers where barriers don’t need to be. And when we pull down those barriers, we really find love on the other side,” Chris Schorbinger said.

That love on the other side has continued to grow. The families spend Thanksgiving as one, and will of course be getting together again in the days ahead.

When school was over, the students were informed that there was no school on Monday-the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off,” said the teacher. An extra day of fun suited Flora just fine. She loved   breaks and expected to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Flora off, she ran into the house happily.

“How was school, Flora?” asked her mom.

“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”

“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Flora’s mom with a laugh.

Flora slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. It rained most of the day, so Flora enjoyed playing video games inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketbal1 for several hours. Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Flora was so looking forward to. But Flora was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Flora that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Flora couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday, a day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Flora rubbed her eyes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

“Flora, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Flora’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Flora asked her parents, “Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”

“Yes, Flora. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”

Flora felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.

Things began to change as she was doing the chores.

7 . A few months ago, Jason asked his parents to buy him a computer. All his friends already had one, so his mom and dad agreed. During the first few weeks, Jason spent a lot of time in front of his computer because he had to learn how it worked. He was really interested in learning all about it and he even started writing computer programs himself.

One day Jason found a website where he could play chess either against the computer or against other people from all over the world. From then on, Jason seemed to have just one interest in life, his computer. Whenever his parents told him that he was spending too much time with his computer, Jason went into denial. He did not think that he had a problem at all.

Then the unthinkable happened: Jason's computer broke down. But his parents decided not to buy him a new one. Jason said that he needed a computer for school, and he promised that he'd spend less time with it. But his parents refused to give in. Finally, Jason felt so hopeless that he took the only way out and killed himself.

Robert Johnson, a psychologist (心理学家) on the subject, says, "Computer addiction is an illness that can influence anyone of us. Nowadays, increasing numbers of people are spending more and more time working with computers. While this isn't a problem for most users, some people, especially teenagers, often use the computer to get away from the real world. This is especially true of shy people. For them, meeting people online is a way of hiding their true selves. In cyberspace (网络空间), they can be whoever they want to be and create their own virtual (虚拟的) world. But what happens when they can no longer enter their virtual world?"

8 . I had no idea she would be there. My apologies for her______had been prepared.

When my teacher announced we would be having a (n) ______ mother-daughter tea, I felt______I would not be serving my mother at this special event. So I will never forget_____ the beautifully decorated gym and there she was, sitting calmly, and ______! As I looked at her, I imagined all the arrangements this_____woman must have had to make to be able to be with me for that one hour.

Who was_____ Granny? She was ill in bed, and Mom had to do everything for her. How did she get here? We didn’t own a car, and she couldn’t_____ a taxi. It was a long walk to get the bus, plus at least five more blocks to the______.

And the pretty dress she was______ , red with tiny white flowers, was just right for the tea. There was no money for extra clothes, and I knew she had gone into ______ again to have it.

I was so proud! I served her tea with a_____ , thankful heart, and introduced her to the group when our______came. I sat with my mother that day, just like the rest of the______, and that was very_____ to me. The look of love in her eyes told me she_____my feelings .

I have never forgotten. One of the______ I made to myself and to my children was that I would always be there for them. That promise is_____ to keep in today’s busy world. But I have a(n)______before me that puts any _____ excuses to rest. I just recall again when mother came to tea.