Then I started to notice 7 else about Amy. After lunch most of the kids got 8 from their parents, but none came for Amy.

    At 9 I used to sit on a bench at beach, 10 and looking over the lake. As I approached the benches one night, I saw Amy 11 there.

"Hey, Amy," I said, sitting 12 to her. "You see that light there, on the other 13 of water? I like looking at that light. For me it's like my dream. One 14 I'm going to do something important with my life."

The next day when the 15 was handed out, Amy's name was 16 out. She went up to get the letter. I went over and asked, "Hey, Amy, what's your secret?"

    She didn't 17. She looked at the letter, a picture of a lake with a big 18 shining on the other side of it. She looked at me, and put the 19 over her heart.

    On the last day of the camp, she gave me a big hug good bye. 20 she had dream of her own. I hope so.

    I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new 1, and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. 2 he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his3 .

    So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心) were sweating. I was completely4 for her kisses on both my cheeks. "I came to thank you," she said, surprising me beyond speech. 5 me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he6 me, he had began to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had 7 spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the 8I had nurtured(培养) in her son. She kissed me again and left.

    I sat, stunned (惊呆), for about half an hour, 9 what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without 10 knowing it? What I finally came to 11 was one day, several months before, when some students were 12 reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke 13 , and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, "Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the 14 one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the 15 of the room." That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, 16 more, and became happy. And it was all because he 17to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed 18 was the one who took the last seat that day.

    It taught me the most19 lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came 20 and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.

    An old woman was sitting outside an ice-cream shop with dirty clothes and rough hair. She got 1 and walked, but it seemed quite 2, her legs shivering(颤抖)and her eyes showing deep sorrow of being left alone and homeless.

    I did not 3 an ice cream, so I was outside the shop, 4 her, while my family went in. Her legs were weak and trembling. I saw her difficulties and came up to her with 10 dollars in my 5 and handed it over to her. She was so 6 and started blessing me instantly.

    I wanted to talk with her as that seemed very important 7. I asked about her 8. She said there was no one, and that all died one by one, with tears in her eyes.

    "Where does she live?" I 9. The response was quite 10. I noticed her "luggage", two plastic bags, containing her 11. At this point, I gave her my 12, smooth stole(披肩). It was bright yellow and looked new.

    But she was not ready to accept 13. She was worried about my feeling cold for a few minutes before I got home. She finally 14 the stole and covered herself, when I insisted. She was 15 me even more. I checked my bag and kept giving anything that I thought she could use. How grateful she was! At this moment, I saw change in her 16 state of mind. By this time, she seemed calm and 17. And so did I.

    The look of 18 and hopelessness was transformed. She looked at the people who passed by us with more 19 in that moment.

    I realized it was my small kind act 20 had counted a lot to the old woman.

    Several years ago, my company experienced a slowdown in business. We hoped that it was only 1. We had work enough for only four days of the week. So we decided that we would 2 from Monday through Thursday, and take Fridays to do 3 projects in our hometown.

    One day, we went to a very old gentleman's 4 to do a total cleanup. When we arrived, an elderly woman 5 us at the door. We thought she was the wife, but it turned out she was the 6. She was 75, and her father 97! Soon, we began to 7 the house and the yard. It was 8 how much work a group could get done when everyone was working 9. That gentleman's house went from dirt to a sparkling clean palace by the time we 10.

    The thing I most remember about that day, 11, was not the great cleaning job that we did, but something 12. When we walked into the house, I noticed the wonderful drawings that 13 the walls. The daughter told us that her father had 14 them, and that he hadn't 15 art until he was 80 years old. I was 16: these drawings were works of art that could have easily been hanging in a museum. At the time, I was in my early 30s and wanted to do something that would 17 my creative and artistic competence more than being president of a company would 18. I had felt that it was too 19 to make a change at this "advanced" stage of my life. Boy! My 20 belief system got expanded that afternoon!

    One sunny afternoon, a seven-year-old girl went for a walk. She crossed a large area of grassland into the woods 1 she realized that she was lost.

    Sitting on a rock and 2 what to do, she began crying. After a while, She 3 to walk along a wide path lined with tall trees and thick bushes. 4 it was getting dark, she saw a small, dark wooden house. She opened the door and 5 stepped in. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise, and she ran out of the door and back to the 6 . Cold and tired, she fell asleep near a 7.

    The girl's parents were out and her dog, Laddy, was at home. Laddy 8 that his mistress was in danger. He jumped 9 a window, breaking the glass. He looked in the fields. But he couldn't find his mistress anywhere. However, from the ground came a10 scent (气味) as he lowered his head. He 11 the scent and walked across the grassland. Barking 12 into the air, the dog 13 through the woods until he found the 14. But the girl was not there, so he headed back to the woods. Much to his 15, he saw his mistress' blue shirt in the distance. He 16 over some bushes and saw the little stream, where the girl was 17.

    When she opened her eyes and18her dog standing beside her, the girl said, "you19me, Laddy," and she kissed him several times. Seeing their daughter and dog coming back, the parents burst into tears of 20. That night Laddy had a hero's supper: a huge meal of steak.

    My mother spent her childhood with her father on their farm in the US. She learned how to mend fences, plow fields, and make cheese. And she learned farm life doesn't offer1rewards, but if you stick with it, the effort and the long days2.

    My grandpa spent his later years living on a comer of the3, named Cherry Ridge, where they4riding horses together every Saturday before he died in 2012.

    Since that time, the farm has5into Cherry Ridge Therapeutic Learning Programs, a center for learning, horseback riding and companionship.

    "I am a 'road scholar', learning in an experiential way," Mom told me. "I feel I was6with eyes to see the needs of a(n)7spirit," she added. She has partnered with a8called Working to Empower Students Together (WEST), which helps young people with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral challenges, or unstable home environments.

    Mom's latest project, the Farm Day Grief Camp, was9out of her grieving after the10 of my grandpa.

    "I'm an adult woman who lost my11only six years ago," Mom said. "There is nothing12than nature and animals to help with the13process." The camp's first visitors were five kids mourning the loss of a 7-year-old who died of cancer.14included painting and recalling the child's favorite things; and a balloon launch they called Sentiments to Heaven.

    "Each camper wrote one thing they wished they could15with their departed(去世的)loved one on their16," Mom-said. Children living with physical disabilities are also17at Cherry Ridge. Recently, a student in a wheelchair smiled ear-to-ear as he led the farm's mini horses around.

    Mom's vision18children, ensuring the lessons she learned on the farm will be19for years to come. I know my grandpa would be20.