On my way to my office, I saw a man listening to music on his phones. He was standing by a pet store. He looked lose in thought as he listened to the soft music. I was looking into the distance as if watch old memories being projected onto the wall in front of him.

As I walked by, I looked back but smiled, saying, “Such the beautiful music!” Sudden everything changed. His face lit up with the biggest and happiest smile! He says, “Thank you!” We both smiled. There are so much kindness in a shared smile! I smiled all the way work!

2 . Katie Ortman Doble suffered from a rare form of cancer. Doctors said she had 16 months to ________. But her father, who was a physician himself, was ________ to find a clinical (临床的) trial that could ________ her life.

So Katie flew to New York to see if she would ________ for the trial. She had been there for two days. ________, it was time for her to meet with the doctor to find out if she was qualified for the ________. As she went through a series of tests, she found herself ________ her mom, who passed away when Katie was a teenager. On particularly ________ days, her mom would offer what she called an “energy ________”.

As she ________ in waiting room after waiting room, Katie ________ one of those special hugs. At that time, she ________ a girl who looked to be about her age ________ her head in her mother’s lap (大腿). Soon, a nurse came out and ________ the girl to get her test. And when Katie turned her head back around, the ________ was standing right in front of her. She said to Katie, “You look like you want a mom hug.” With ________ in her eyes. Katic nodded and said ________.

“It was just one of those moments in life when somebody ________ and gave you something that you ________,” she recalled. In the summer of 2023, Katie and her family celebrated her first anniversary (周年纪念) of being ________ free.

4 . I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (给贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. So we both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened,I saw my shoes flying at me.I jumped to my feet and started yelling (叫喊). She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬行) under her covers (被子), sobbing (哭啼). Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart. Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression was such disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the meaning of living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

5 . It’s hard to talk to dad sometimes. His silence about his feelings and thoughts made him mysterious and hard to see through. You could never break his hard shell and get to know him. And he seemed to want to stay that way too.

But a year ago when my relationship with my wife and career took a hit, I needed my dad to pull back the curtain so I could see him as real and accessible. I was facing serious problems, and I wanted to know whether he had faced them before and how he had found his way, because I felt like I had lost mine. In desperation, it occurred to me that sending an email might be the key, so I wrote him one, telling him about my regrets and fears, and I asked him to answer, if he felt like it.

Two weeks later, it showed up in my inbox: a much-thought, three-page letter. Dad, a 68-year-old retired technologist and grandfather of four, had carefully considered my message, and crafted a response. He mentioned his lost love, the foolish mistake he made in career and the stupid pride he had between him and his parents. He comforted me that “life will still find its right track despite many of its twists and turns.”

I closed the email and started to cry, because I wished I had opened up earlier but was grateful it wasn’t too late. I cried because at 33, in the midst of my own struggles, his letter instantly put me at ease. And I cried because in the end, it was so simple: I just had to hit “Send.”

We’ve since had many email exchanges. This increasing communication opened a door into his world. My problems haven’t been magically solved, but getting to know my dad better has made the tough stuff more manageable and life sweeter. It’s hard to talk to dads sometimes, but I’m glad I found a way to talk to mine.