A couple of weeks ago, I made a trip to Toronto with my granddaughter who just turned three years old. The two of us were on our way to  1   her parents, and my wife—her  2    who had been gone for over a week. We were all anxious to  3    again and as I pulled out of Mamere and Papere's driveway in Chelmsford, Hailee and I were both  4    about the trip and couldn't wait to arrive at our   5.

When we completed the “SEVEN”-hour trip to Toronto later that day, the reunion was absolutely  6 and I can sincerely say I enjoyed every single minute of that   7     journey.

      Hailee is at that “I want to  8  it myself” stage of her life. And if you can just get over the “hurry-up syndrome” we acquire as  9, it is wonderful to witness. Who knew that putting a straw into the  10  in a juice box for the very first time could be such an earth-shattering (惊天动地的) event? Or being  11  enough to actually open the fridge door for the first time? Or putting on your own  12  on the right feet would be so  13?

      I'll never forget the look on her face the day she was able to  14 into my truck by herself. She finally  15 on my seat, holding onto the steering wheel (方向盘) and declared 16, “I did it!” And when she could actually put her own seat belt on—what a(n)  17!

    Have you ever watched a three-year-old 18 to sip a McDonald's milkshake through a straw? It is hard enough for an adult, too. And 19 every time the icy solution (溶液) touched her lips, you could see the 20 in her eyes. I learned that you can't hurry a child through a milkshake.

    One day, a well-known speaker was invited to give a lecture to an audience of 200. He started his lecture by1a $ 20 bill. He looked around the room, and asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”2 started going up.

    He said, “I am going to 3 this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He crumpled up (揉皱) the 20-dollar bill. He then asked, “Who 4 wants it?” Still the hands were 5 in the air.

    “Well”, he replied,“6I do this ?” And he dropped it on the 7 and started to step on it with his shoes. He picked it up. Now it was crumpled and 8.

    “Now, who wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

    “My friends, we have all learned a very 9 lesson. No matter what I did to the 10, you still want it because it doesn't decrease in 11. It is still worth $20, with 12 we can buy what we need.

    Many times in our lives, we are 13, and trampled（踩）underfoot by the decision we 14 and the circumstances that come our way. We feel 15we were worthless. But no matter what has happened or what may happen to us, you will never 16 your value. Dirty or clean, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives is determined not by 17we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are18. Don't ever forget it.”

    If you 19 this lesson in mind, it will help you to 20 again when you fall. Each time it makes you grow much stronger.

    Long ago there was a poor farmer in Russia. He had been very 1 with everything he had. However, when he found his elder brother was 2 than him, he felt disappointed. So he 3 hard about how he could also be richer. Finally he got an idea. He started to spend less money on food and clothes to 4 some money to buy more land. Once he had enough money, he started 5for land.

    He 6 that on the neighboring land, there were some nomads (游牧民) living there. He bought some gifts and went to 7 their head. He presented the gifts to the head and told him the 8 of his visit. The head welcomed him, accepted the gifts and agreed to his 9 to get the land. The head told him that he could have the land 10 giving him anything. He can take as much land as he could 11 by walking through the land before sunset. He should start in the morning and whatever distance he could travel during the 12, he could have it.

    The farmer became very 13 when he heard this offer. Now he could have lots of 14 without paying anything. He came 15 the next morning and started running, not walking, 16 he could cover the largest area. To reach his goal, he neither ate food, nor drank water, nor had any rest. He just continued 17. Without eating, or drinking, or resting he just got very 18. When he came back to the head in the evening, he 19 right on the spot. Sadly his son buried him in a piece of land about 6 x 4 feet.

    Don't be greedy (贪婪的) or you will 20 everything finally.

    For most people, graduation day is exciting. My graduation day, 1 was not.

    I remember that weekend two years ago. My family and my friends had come to watch our class walk across that 2. But like everyone in my graduating class, I had watched the economy 3from bad to worse during my senior year. We graduates had 4 but very limited prospects(前景). Numerous applications were 5 and I knew that the next day, when my lease(租约)ended，I would no longer have a place to 6"home".

    The weeks 7 were not easy. I drove to California to find work. But what I thought would 8me a week dragged into two, and then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself 9I was before.

    Days 10 like weeks, weeks like months and those many months seemed 11. The most 12 part was no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't seem to make any 13.

    Then I began to write. Something about putting words on a page made everything seem a little clearer – a little brighter. Something about writing gave me 14.

    I put my frustration into a children's 15, one story of which was about a(n) 16, a little fish, who, fighting in a "river", 17 to give up his dream. I kept on writing. And then one day, 18 any sort of writing degree or contracts in the writing world – just a lot of hard work and perseverance – I was offered a publishing contract for my first book! After that, things began to be in 19 soon. I was offered a second book deal. Then a few months later, I got an interview with the Walt Disney Company and was hired shortly after.

    The lesson of the story: Work hard, give it time and don't give up. Often our dreams lie in wait just a little further upstream. All we need is the20 to push beyond the "river".

    Skydiving isn't an activity for the faint of heart, but when you do it at 101 years old, you're pretty much a superhuman. On May 13, Verdun Hayes became the 1person in the world to complete a 15,000-foot tandern jump (双人伞), 2 the Guinness World Records he once set up.

    Verdun Hayes wasn't 3. He finished the jump with eight family members and two close 4 at Dunkeswell Airport in England. As they5to make the jump, the entire family looked nervous, but6as well. Hayes' grandson–in–law Ian Honnor, the organizer of the family's jump, told TODAY, "He was probably the calmest one on the 7. He had no fear and just loved it. He just wanted everyone to8it and be healthy." Honnor, who helped 9the outing, said this wasn't Hayes' first jump! "When he was more than ninety years old, his family kept telling him he wasn't 10 to do the jump. However, he didn't give up his 11. At the age of 100, he 12realized his ambition and became the first man of such an advanced age to 13a tandem skydive."

    This time he decided to shoot for the world record. "Because it's such a big14, it was decided that as many people in the family as we could possibly get were going to go15him," Honnor said. "He had four generations(世代) of his family in the 16at the same time—they ranged from age 16 to 101." The family held a big party to 17his achievement.

    Hayes even had some18for those people hoping to 19the same thing at his age. "Just keep your mind20occupied by positive thought and keep your body as fit as you possibly can," said Hayes. "Those are the two great things."

    Recently I understood the true meaning of love. The1was Kane, my neighbor Joline's two-year-old son.

    Kane was born with a physical problem on his2. And I witnessed the3that Kane's physical shortcomings had on his family. I also witnessed much more than that. I saw a4family that embraced (拥抱) this special child. A family that wouldn't allow Kane to know he was5. Joline had constructed a small cart just a few inches off the floor for his son to6. Kane used his hands to move about, and the cart7him to "go to" any place just as everyone else was able to do. Kane was not just a member of the family, but the8of the family.

    With a wide smile, it was easy to see that even at the age of two, Kane liked to9with people very much. With wisdom of an individual, this boy even10the most complex of human emotions. Later I came to11that this child was sent to help some of us who weren't just getting what love was all about.

    Kane demanded attention,12not because of his mobility (移动能力) challenges or other apparent shortcomings. In his mind, he had no13or shortcomings. The14was that he received attention because he was alive and real and had so much to offer.

    Kane15me in a deep way. His ability to refuse to be different has16me. Kane was and is17lots of warm and powerful energy to me. From him and his family I learnt the18: love surpasses (超越) all things. I can only imagine that as the parent of a child like Kane one might be filled with19. But I believe that having a child like Kane is actually a(n)20. The parents of such special babies are angels too, just as the babies are.