1 . When my teenaged son became seriously ill, terrible times for my family began. Our once-happy home became tense and depressed. My husband and I were exhausted under the great stress of caring for my son. It was as if we forgot how to communicate-we couldn’t have a simple conversation without a fighting. Our marriage was on the point of breaking up.

One evening, my son and I were talking about gifts. I recalled my first Valentine’s present from my husband, a kazoo. I was awkward when I received it because I couldn’t get it to make a sound although I am a professional saxophone player. However hard I tried, it just never worked. The kazoo eventually got packed away and forgotten. But my son was interested and insisted on seeing it. After some trouble, I found it.

“You couldn’t get a sound? What’s so hard about it?” my husband asked, amazed. He took the kazoo and blew. Nothing happened. Surprised, he tried again. Still there was no sound. Frustrated, he tried again, only to produce a funny sound like an angry bumblebee trapped in the mouth of a bear. We burst into laughter. My son took a turn to play the kazoo. He did no better than us, causing more laughing.

Seeing his face light up, we felt as if the darkness had lifted and a ray of sunshine was let in. It was the best ten minutes of the past couple of years. The mood stayed light for the rest of the evening. It didn’t solve anything. But this experience with the kazoo brought some change in our hearts that always reminds us that there are still things to laugh at and enjoy, and that we can still connect as a family.

2 . Priest (牧师) had a cat that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The priest persuaded (劝说) and offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not strong enough to climb, so the priest decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree would bend down, he could then reach up and get the kitty. He did so, checking his progress in the car again and again, then worked out if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent enough for him to reach the kitty, But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went “boing!” and the kitty at once sailed through the air out of sight. The priest felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen his kitty. Nobody had seen a lost kitty.

So, he prayed, “God, I just give this kitty to your keeping.” And then he went on about his business.

Several days later he was at the grocery store, meeting one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. Before this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?”

She replied ,“You won’t believe this.” and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child begged again, so the mom finally told her little girl. “Well, God gives you a cat, you can keep it.” She told the priest, “I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. You won’t believe this, but saw it with my own eyes. A cat suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws spread out. and landed right in front of her.”

4 . It was a hot summer day a few years ago. I had just walked into the local station. After pumping(抽取) the gas I started to walk inside to pay. That was when I noticed them. Two elderly women were standing back from their car. There was a mixture(混合) of shock and fear(恐惧) on their faces. I looked and saw what they saw. Five yellow jackets had started to build a nest around their gas cap. My eyes widened(放大).I shared the ladies fear.

Yellow jackets had never been my friends. Several times these wasps(黄蜂) had attacked(袭击) me while I was in a garden. They gave me stings(蜇) each time I ran over their nests. They are the reason I never do gardening anymore. The worst time, however, happened when I was a young boy.My friend and I were running and playing in my backyard(后院).I must step on one of their nests before I knew it. Both of us were chased(追赶) by the yellow jackets. I ran to my mom with tears in my eyes. She immediately put us in a cold bath(洗澡) to ease(缓解)the pain before giving us medicine(药).

Still, I knew I couldn’t let fear stop me now. I reached into my pocket(口袋) for a paper towel I had there, tore(扯)out the nest and stepped on it while the angry wasps buzzed(发出嗡嗡声) around me. Both of the ladies thanked me and I said."You' re welcome! " with a smile and a happy heart.

5 . When I was about 12, I had an “enemy”, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings (缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much; I was too proud, and so on. At last, I couldn’t stand it. I cried and ran to my father. He listened to me quietly. Then he asked, “Sweetie, are the things she says true or not? Didn’t you ever wonder what you are really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and find out the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told. To my surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Dad. He refused to take it. “It’s just the case for you,” he said, “you know better than anyone the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of great help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don't shut your ears, listen to them all, but hear the truth only and do what you know is right to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

6 . I was in the second year of my PhD program when a colleague asked what I would do if I had a 25th hour every day. Without much________, I said I would use it to help others. Like many graduate students, I was________with teaching, coursework,________, and some attempts at a personal life.________, I asked myself, “Do I really need a(n)________hour to help other people — or do I need to make better use of the 24 hours I have?”

A short time later, I started to________for an organization that provides________for senior citizens and people with disabilities. To my________, adding this activity to my busy life was just what I needed to________the chaos I was feeling as a first-generation international graduate student.

I was a bit________before my first ride, as I had not________much with people outside school. But my nervousness quickly calmed when I________my passenger: an old woman on her way to church. She was________to see a young international driver and was full of questions about my________. She shared with me how thankful she was to attend________and get some fresh air. She gave me her blessings.________like these and the smiles on my riders’ faces________me to continue driving.

I started to volunteer about 3 hours every weekend — time I otherwise would have wasted________or looking through social media. Sharing stories with my riders was much more________. My previously overwhelming schedule began to feel________.

Last summer, my son worked hard to earn enough money to buy him a new racing­bicycle instead of asking for money from me. I loved my son so very much that I bought him a pair of sunglasses and gloves.

On November 10th, my birthday, I found the beautiful guitar on the table, beside that was a card, saying, “Happy birthday to my wonderful mother.” I was surprising and tears streamed down my face. I remembered once I joke to my family that I wanted to learn how to play guitar to make my life wonderful. I had forgotten it, and my son remembered. He took it serious, and bought me one as a birthday gift. After wondering how my son could buy the expensive gifts, I realized that my son had sold his racing­bicycle to get me the guitar.

10 . One day, two old friends were walking through the desert. During the journey they had a quarrel, and one friend couldn't control himself and hit the other one in the face.

The one who was hit was hurt, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he wrote in the sand, "Today my best friend hit me in the face."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis(绿洲). They decided to get some water. The one who was hit fell into the mire(泥潭) and was in danger, but the friend saved him.

When he felt all right, he wrote on a stone, "Today my best friend saved my life."

The one who had hit and saved his best friend felt surprised and asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand but now you write on a stone. Why?"

The other friend replied," When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can blow it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must write it in stone where no wind can ever blow it away!"

Since then the two friends have never quarreled with each other again and they got on better with each other.