1 . My memories of those nights I spent with my great-grandmother are still vivid. I _______ them all, because I have nothing else to remind me of her. While my friends _______ display treasures left to them by their grandmothers—precious china, antique silver, jewelry—all that I have of her is a scarf I’d made her.

My great-grandmother didn’t have a china-and-jewelry kind of _______ . While we were under the _______ , she told me many sad stories. I felt the _______ a mother feels when her only son is _______ missing after a battle. I felt the sorrow a wife feels as throat cancer robs her beloved _______ of speech and ultimately of life. I felt the _______ of the Depression, what it was like to lose your home and to _______ produce that had gone bad. My great-grandmother never cried when she ________ her past, and afterward, she always said, “Oh, kid, it’s a great life if you don’t ________ .”

A few years ago, my life took a ________ turn, and curiously, I found my great-grandmother and her stories frequently occupying my mind. I realized then that ________ she had not left me any precious objects, she had left me a treasury of stories and a wealth of memories. By turning her soul inside out to me during those nights in bed, she’d given me the greatest gift—her ________ , her courage to face life head-on. Her legacy gave me the ________ I’d lacked. If she could survive the difficulties of her life, then I knew I could, too.

2 . I sat down at my desk and started writing a letter of thankfulness, but when it came to actually putting the letter into the mailbox, I ________ I couldn’t do it. I suddenly felt a sense of ________ and insecurity (不安).

The letter was to an old teacher with whom I kept in ________ on Facebook. For months, I read about what she ________ on her Facebook page, which helped me to live my life differently. Her volunteer work wasn’t huge. ________, she was doing small, local good deeds. Gradually, she changed my views on the world and for some reason, I felt I should let her know how her example ________ influenced me.

I could have easily sent her an email, but that seemed not enough for such an important thank-you. That’s why I ended up ________ the letter. But now here I was, standing before the mailbox, unable to put the envelope inside. What was stopping me? It suddenly hit me that I was ________ of being too nice. I guessed I felt strange because it wasn’t like she was my best friend or a relative. Maybe my letter was too heartfelt. Thinking this over, I put the envelope in the mailbox ________.

Weeks later I received a Facebook response from her. It turned out she was going through a hard time and my note ________ a lot to her. She said she had no idea that she was playing such a big ________ in others’ life.

Not only did this letter make her happier, but her ________ increased my joy as well. I was so excited that it had such a great influence on her that I decided to write a(n) ________ letter to someone each month. Now it’s easier for me to ________ the goodness in others and be more ________ for this beautiful life I’m living.

3 . My 70-year-old mother was fighting an 18-year battle with cancer. It was a battle I knew she would someday _______ . Maybe soon. And it _______ my heart to think about that.

Mom and I had a good relationship, but we just weren’t _______ in the way I was with my daughter. Mom and I never _______ or said “I love you” like I often do with my daughter. Sometimes I felt _______ about Mom`s love for me. Then the pandemic hit. Our city was in lockdown to _______ the possible infection (感染). Therefore, I didn’t come to Mom’s place but made daily phone calls instead, We didn’t say too much, but we knew we cared about each other. “I’ve set about quilting (缝被子), and I`ll make one for you,” my mother announced _______ over the phone one day. I tried to _______ her suggestion as it was too tiring for her, but she insisted.

My quilt was Mom’s last one. A month later, I got a call from Dad saying Mom was gone. A great sense of _______ overwhelmed me-the pandemic took away my last chance to see Mom and show my love to her.

One day, I decided to give quilting a(n) ________ myself for my daughter. I carefully ________ the fabric (面料) I thought she would enjoy, and maybe I was still trying to make a ________ between Mom and myself in this way. I always thought what had ________ her to quilting late in life. I imagined asking her for ________ on how to make the right stitches (针脚). Sometimes I’d ________ us sitting together in the living room watching TV together.

Finally, I got the quilt Mom ________ me. I opened it and what I saw caught my. ________ . It was exactly the same fabric I had chosen for my daughter. Yet something far more difficult to ________ at last became clear. Mom, in her own way, had ________ said those three beautiful words ”I love you” I ________ to hear.

4 . At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. The airline had announced her plane’s_________and he said to his daughter, “I love you. I wish you enough.”

She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your_________is all I needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.” They kissed good-bye and she left.

I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to_________his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking. “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be_________?” “Yes.” I replied.

Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and_________for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were_________, I kept telling him face to face how much he meant to me._________I knew what this man was experiencing.

“Why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked.

“I am old and she lives too far away. And the reality is, her next trip back will be for my_________,” he said.

“When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough’. What does that mean?”

He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been_________from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused and looked up as if trying to remember it__________. He smiled even more.

“When we said ‘I wish you enough’, we wanted you to have a life filled with enough good things to__________you,” he continued and shared the following as if he were reciting it from__________.

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest________ in life appears much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your desire. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you     ________”

He then began to__________and walked away.

6 . Though Dad looked tired and weak, his smile was as sure as ever. It was another __________ of pneumonia(肺炎). My husband and I stayed with him for the weekend but had to return to our jobs by Monday morning. Local relatives would see that Dad was home from the hospital, and they would visit him __________, prepare his meals and take him to his doctor appointments. But I __________ be able to let him know that we cared, too, even when we weren’t with him.

Then I remembered a family __________ I started when our children were small. When leaving their grandparents’ home after a visit, each child would __________ a love note in the house for them to __________ after we were gone. They hid notes somewhere. For days after our departure, their grandparents would smile as they __________ these reminders of our love.

So as I __________ Dad’s rooms, I began writing notes. Some were __________. “Dad, I put the milk in the fridge so it wouldn’t __________. ” Some expressed my love. “Dad, I hope you sleep well in your new bed. ” Most notes were __________ where he would live for several weeks until he regained __________, but one note I hid upstairs under his pillow. “Dad, if you have found this note, you must be feeling better. We are so glad!”

While others cared for Dad’s daily __________, we of course, would stay in touch by phone. But our notes were a __________ reminder of our love and concern for him during this recovery period. Just like his medicines improved him physically, these __________ vitamins would improve his spiritual health. Several weeks later, Dad phoned and said, “I’ll tell you that I just found your note under my pillow!” I smiled at the other end of the phone

7 . In times of stress and depression, a friend would always suggest going for a walk. But I regarded it as nothing but the best _________. I didn’t understand how these things could _________.

Three years ago, I hit a low point. Once I saw a pair of _________ eyes looking at me through the mirror. I realized I had to take the _________ I fought so hard to ignore. I went for a walk — with the hope that it would _________ change my life.

I walked several miles a day for the first two weeks, but it did nothing. Then I _________ to it every single day for more than a month. There were days when I could _________ make it outside, but I managed to _________. Every time I went out to walk, I took a _________. I think I wanted to document myself trying to make an __________.

As time passed by, one day the __________ happened. I found myself smiling. I found myself longing to be outside from time to time. What I once __________ had become the best part of my day. I never had a destination in mind, nothing in particular. I just __________ along the paths, stopped to look at the blue skies and listened to music.

I’m glad I took the photos because there was an obvious difference in my face. I slowly started to look less __________ and tired. Till now, I don’t know why I __________ to do so for so long. I guess I didn’t want to believe that something small at the surface could actually have an impact on my physical and mental well-being.

8 . I was a self-employed writer. But I had been in a bad ________ since my new neighbor moved in. Whenever I became ________ to write, I could hear a girl singing next door. She didn’t sing well at all, even ________ it was absolutely a headache for me. ________, it became a daily routine for me to ________. How could I keep up my ________ and go on writing?

One day, it was too noisy and my thoughts were entirely disturbed. I had my husband go to ________ her about the matter. Minutes later, he returned. “That girl is only 17,” he ________ with a sad look, “but she has bone cancer.” My mind suddenly went ________. “Her mother said that the more hurtful it is, the louder her daughter sings. It helps her ________ the pain. The poor mother begs our pardon for interrupting us.” In a flash, I felt guilty about my thoughtless ________.

From that day on, I no longer felt anything wrong, and even got used to her singing—I felt as if ________ by the smell of flowers. Afterwards I was on business and happened to know the girl had been admitted into a hospital. When I returned home in late summer, I somehow felt that something was ________. I couldn’t hear the girl next door sing anymore.

“However hard the winds blow, you will stray ( 走失) no more from my ________ … You shall believe that I am brave only with you…” Her singing always ________ in my mind. I hope the voice is everlasting for you, me, and everyone.