Many years ago, I was working in an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had a large1that looked out over a busy street. I was standing by it one day when a woman in a2 car looked up and made eye contact. Naturally I 3. As she turned and tried to identify me, a quiet laugh 4my lips. My co-workers began taking an interest, and stood back watching the5I received, and laughing happily. Then the stress of work was6away.

    Christmas approached, and job 7 were announced. Several of my co-workers were losing their jobs, and everyone was8. While I was working a night shift, a red jacket, a box of foam (泡沫橡胶) packing and strips of tape in the corner attracted my 9 They could be Santa's jacket and beard! Then I folded a red file into a 10 and tied the beard to it.

    The next day I walked 11 down into the office in the costume. My co-workers 12 around me and laughed for the first time in weeks. Suddenly, my boss came up to me13 shook his head and then left. I feared 14. Then the phone rang.

    With a bead of sweat 15 my forehead, I entered the boss' office.16he laughed: “Thanks, Mike! It's been hard to enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks for the laugh. I 17 it.”

    That evening, I stood 18by the window and waved at my fans, with my heart 19with joy. For a few minutes of that day, we'd been able to forget our 20

    After 22 years of marriage, I have discovered the secret to keep love alive in my relationship with my wife, Peggy. I started dating another woman.

One day Peggy said to me, "Life is too 1, you need to spend time with the people you love. You probably won't believe me, but I know you love her and I think that if the two of you spend more time together, it will make us2.

The "other" woman my wife was encouraging me to3is my mother, a 72-year-old widow who has lived alone since my father 4 20 years ago. Right after his death, I5 2,500 miles away to California and started my own life and career. When I moved back near my hometown six years ago, I promised myself that I would spend more time with mom. But with the 6of my job and three kids, I never got around to seeing her much 7family get-togethers and holidays.

    Mom was 8 and suspicious when I called and suggested the two of us go out to dinner and a movie.

    We didn't go anywhere 9, just a neighborhood place where we could talk. 10 her eyes now see only large shapes and shadows, I had to read the menu for both of us.

"I used to be the 11 when you were little," she said.

"Then it is time for you to relax and let me 12the favor," I said.

    We had a nice talk 13dinner, just catching up on each other's lives. We talked for so long that we 14 the movie.

"15was your date?" my wife asked when I got home that evening.

    Nice...nicer than I thought it would be,' I said.

    Mom and I get out for16a couple of times a month. Sometimes we take in a movie, but 17we talk. Through the talks, I know what it was like for her to work in a factory during the Second World War. I know how she met my father there, and know how they 18the difficult times. I can't get enough of these stories. They are 19 to me, a part of my history.

    Peggy was right. Dating another woman has20my marriage.

    One day I overheard my mom talk about a family whose work schedules overlapped (重叠), leaving no one to watch their two children. Upon hearing their 1, I decided to help this 2 out by babysitting (当临时保姆). I finally continued with it due to the 3 I obtained. For example, on the first day, while we were playing outside, the neighborhood kids 4 playing on the swings. I 5 came up with the solution of rock-paper-scissors: the kids who 6 swung first. I 7 I had the ability to change a negative situation into an enjoyable 8 for the children. The two children 9 me how creativity can come from the 10 things, with imagination being the only tool needed. We turned plates into masks and the backyard into a medieval (中世纪的) castle. They also taught me things can't always be 11 and sometimes things can get messy but you can always clean a mess up. I 12 more about myself each of the four times a week I spent at the household than I could have 13.

    I continued babysitting throughout my high school 14 the bond I'd formed with the children and the 15 I'd felt I was making in their family. It was 16 to watch the kids 17 and learn from things I was able to instill (灌输)in them. After the swing argument, whenever a 18 needed a solution, the kids would do rock-paper-scissors. I'll never 19 the lifetime skills I obtained from the experience that has 20 me into the person I am today.

    It's a family tradition to go to dinner at my grandmother's house for all major holidays. After the meal, the youngest children go to the basement to play games, 1 the remainder of my family withdraw to the living room. For several years, I'd remain at the 2 dinner table, reading whatever book had caught my interest. I'll never forget the day when this all 3. My aunt came into the dinning room and said, “4 that book and talk to me before I hit you with this fork!”

    I'd been content to remain the attentive listener, 5 nothing, but hearing everything. Then came the 6 that I was antisocial, to which I 7 with a silent smile. There was a time when I foolishly believed my family would accept my preference；8, they seem to believe that they should encourage me to 9. In my opinion,  I'm the only one that has adapted well to the familial（熟悉的）talkativeness. What would be the 10 of all these voices if there weren't someone to shut up and 11?

    My 12 isn't the only thing my family finds puzzling. I would scream “No!” at 2 a. m. 13 a character was horrifically killed. I become active at night in summer so I can listen to music, read, and write without the 14 of my brothers and sisters, who seem to think if I want to  be 15 they should come near me and make as much 16 as possible.

    My family doesn't completely 17 all of my actions. They're well aware of what makes me 18 is reading while sitting in one of the black comfortable chairs. I've 19 that reading a book of any great length would make it extremely 20 for my parents to get me from the chair. Fortunately they have learned to accept my actions.

    Yesterday I learned about the death of a member of the Eisner Camp family, Jonah Dreskin. Jonah, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Buffalo, was found in a(n)1condition lying on a campus road Sunday night, and died on the way to the2. The police are still3the cause of his death.

    I didn't really4Jonah, but I heard of him. He was a rabbi's (犹太教教士的) child and had spent many years at camp like I did.5I didn't really know him, I wish I had. I've been6people's memories of him on the wall of a Facebook group, and he was really a(n) 7person. Jonah clearly touched many people and will be greatly8.

    Like Jonah, I've always been the kind of person who enjoys making people feel9. I like to send cards to friends on birthdays or other 10, although not to all of them every year. I hardly ever11any, but that doesn't matter because that is not the reason why I do it. I just think about my friends getting the12through email and their smiles on their faces when they  13them, and that's all I need.

    14, remember that life is valuable. You should15someone for doing good or16 you out. Tell your friends that you're17to have them during your lifetime, and send email to a friend or relative that you haven't18for a very long time. Tell some people that they're 19to you, that you love them, and that you miss them… 20the truth is that you never know what tomorrow will bring and how you are going to make the most of today.

    When the one-year anniversary(周年) of my mother's passing came around, I found myself in the kitchen preparing some of her favorite dishes. I hadn't planned this, 1 there I was, making her famous soup from the turkey I had roasted the day before.

    As I was cooking, some of the deep sadness I was experiencing at this one-year mark moved through me. I loved working with mom in the kitchen but now thinking about her, I began to feel more 2.

    While the 3 boiled in my kitchen, I realized that I was reconnecting with my mother through 4. I laughed a bit at myself when I thought about all the dishes I had cooked that week. 5 knowing it, I had created a beautiful ritual (仪式) to honor my mother and to 6 myself at this time. I suddenly felt my mother at hand and this place was filled with her presence. I was so 7 that I began talking to her, acting 8 she were here with me.

    "What else should we make?" I asked us both, wanting to keep the ritual from 9.

    "Irish Potato Pancakes" was the reply.

    10 I made potato pancakes was two and a half years ago. I had 11 my engagement (订婚) ring to make the dough (面团), and never found it again. Since then, I 12 to use that recipe (菜谱) even though I really liked those pancakes. It's sort of 13 but I never considered making them again, treating them as if they were to blame for the loss of my ring.

    My mom knew how 14 I was about losing my ring. I had always called her whenever I lost something. She had a talent for helping me find my way to lost things, 15 this time.

    I reached for the 16 without another thought of the ring. My mom did love Irish things and these were delicious. I opened the large cookbook and 17 the pancake recipe. At once, 18 at the bottom of the page 19. There, pressed into the pages of the cookbook, was my diamond ring! I slipped my ring onto my trembling hand and a smile filled my soul as I whispered, "Thanks, mom."

    That day, I made potato pancakes 20the shape of hearts.