1 . Growing up, I understood one thing about my dad: He knew everything. I asked him questions and he gave me _________. When I moved out on my own, I usually called him when something broke and I needed to know how to _________ it.

But then, eventually, I _________ him less. I got married, and my husband had the _________ I was short of. I didn’t know when it happened, but our _________ when I called developed into six words. Me: “Hi, Dad.” Him: “Hi, sweetie. Here’s Mom.” There would be a(n) _________ if my mum wasn’t at home. I _________ loved my dad, but I wondered at times if maybe he had already _________ everything I needed to know.

Then, this past summer, my dad said that he once spent a summer in college building boats. “You did?” I asked. I thought I knew everything about my dad. However, I never knew this. I _________ that in the past 40 years, I had focused on myself only. I felt a deep sense of __________.

A few weeks later, I called my parents. Dad answered. “Hi, sweetie. Here’s Mom.,” he said.

__________ to know more about him, I said, “Wait, Dad. How are you?” We __________ talking about a new battery he’d bought for his boat. To anyone else, it would sound like a __________ conversation between a dad and his daughter. But to me, it was novel and a new __________. I spent the first part of my life needing to talk to my dad. Now I talk to him because I __________ to.

2 . I lost my mom last month and it’s been really tough. I _______ to my hometown to pay my respects and say my _______. After spending a few days with my _______ making arrangements, it was time to _______ . I boarded the plane to find a young man _______ in my seat. He apologized graciously(优雅地) when I _______ him to move.

When the plane took off, something about leaving the place where I grew up and realizing that my mom was no longer there _______ me down. As I watched the ground growing more and more _______ through the window, my eyes filled with tears. That same young man asked me if I was OK and said he was there if I needed to talk._______, we had a three-hour flight sitting in the same row.

His words made me feel better. Honestly, I felt I wasn’t __________ on that plane traveling hundreds of miles across the country. Although I never took him up on his offer, I was __________by a stranger who knew that I may need someone in that __________. I was grateful that the young guy was willing to __________ me all of his time on the plane.

That moment has made me actively seek ways to serve and __________ others. The things may be small, but they may be __________ to that person.