Last Friday night I was leaving Joe's art class and heading to Roscoe for dinner with friends. Instead of taking the highway, I1to drive down Roscoe's little main street. Roscoe s is a fairly 2town, though it does have a traditional main street. I3 that people there had already put up their holiday 4There were few cars in the street so I look ray time driving5and enjoying each light. Yes, it was the first week of November and6 not close to Thanksgiving Day, but they were still pretty.

    The next day, I walked into a kid's store to 7chiffon (雪纺绸) flowers for a hat I was knitting (编织). An employee came out of the back room8some beautiful holiday decorations. She saw me and9explained that she wasn't really decorating for Thanksgiving for fear that I would10her. There was just a weekend event that 11some holiday cheer, but afterward all the decorations would be taken down. Her12confirmed the fact that holiday decorations were clearly important13her. I knew she was just following the decorating14Put it up—take it down-put it up again.

    After a deep 15about the two events, 1 have decided that this year I'm just going to16what I see. It doesn't matter what holiday it is or if it's up or down at the “correct” time.17ifs pretty, ifs going to make me delighted. Sometimes, I think we make ourselves a little 18 trying to follow rules that are not really important, or trying to be 19 or not to stand out in the neighborhood. This year I'm going to see the holiday decorations wherever they are and whenever they are and just be20.

    I fell in love with reading when I was a child. Through reading, I developed a good 1 with my parents.

    2 as a second-generation South Korean in America, I was raised in an environment in which my parents 3 to settle in American culture. My parents were awkward, strange and different. Their limitations as immigrants(移民) 4 me; as a child, I was alone and quiet. I grew up in a family where I was 5 to speak English. I wanted to 6 the depth of the books I read but the words 7 me, like my parents. I wasn't able to change the situation 8 I was placed in, but I worked very hard. Every 9, I went to the library to check out new books. I would have 10 reading all the books by Friday afternoons. I became a better 11. Pretty soon, I was the 12 reader in the class. People would look at me in 13 as they saw me read 500-page books in only a few days. But I believe the greatest 14 was reading every night to my parents. Every evening, we 15 together in our living room, and I read to them. Slowly but surely, our 16 grew. My parents can communicate with others 17; for me, grammar quizzes became a piece of cake.

    Today I'm 18 to have Asian-American parents who were 19 enough to learn English from a young boy and wise enough to 20 their son to read at a young age.

    University was a new experience for me. I had grown up in a small seaside town in the south of England, and suddenly I was 1 together with people of my age from all over the country. People were speaking in 2 that I had only ever heard on TV, and sometimes using words that I had 3 heard before.

    I had only been at university for about a week when I 4 David Pitman, from Blackburn in the north of England. We 5 that we both played tennis, and arranged to meet up one afternoon for a 6.

    I went to the sports hall at the time we'd 7, and went into the changing rooms. David was already there, and I could see that he wasn't very 8. He was searching anxiously for something inside his bag. He looked up at me as I 9.

    “I've 10 my keks,” he said. “You haven't got any, have you?” 11 I had no idea what he was talking about. Tennis balls? Shorts? Trainers? What? I said: “Sorry?” David repeated: “Have you got any 12 keks with you?”

    Of course, I could have asked him what the word meant, 13 I was too embarrassed (尴尬的) and didn't want to offend (冒犯) him. David saw the 14 on my face, and said: “You know — keks. Shorts. Tennis shorts.”

    Now I 15, and luckily, I did have some 16 in my bag. I lent them to him, we 17, and he won. Then we went to get a 18. The woman at the canteen asked me what I wanted. “I'd like a Black Beauty, please,” I said. (Where I 19, that's cola and ice cream.) “What on earth is that?” said the woman. I 20 knew how she felt.

    Running a household with a pack full of kids can result in some bad days, even on my day off from work.

    I told my two-year-old son Andrew to 1 to the family room and turn off the TV and he was now upstairs  2 that he help fix supper.

    I knew Andrew could follow simple 3. So I said very clearly and slowly, “Honey, go downstairs and 4 the button on the TV and turn off the TV,” I repeated three times, 5 the words, push, off and TV. I knew he'd 5 it out. He knew where the off button was. 7, he took pleasure in pushing it in every night during the climax(高潮) of every movie we watched.

    So downstairs he went, to do a 8 deed for Mommy. I went back to the sink to wash the carrots. Then it happened. The 9 crash ever heard in our house. I was so 10that I couldn't move. I kept waiting for Andrew to scream. But the 11 was more frightening than the crash.

    I 12 down the steps, half expecting to find Andrew lying 13. I stopped cold.

    He was standing there behind the TV stand, smiling, “Aren't you 14 of me, Mom? Andrew pushed off the TV!”

    There was the TV, face down on the 15. Two of the round handles were broken off. The screen was destroyed. The plants I'd16 that morning that used to sit on top of the set were falling onto the carpet. Broken plants and pots were17 all over the room.

    I pulled him into my 18 and sat on the sofa rocking him 19. I thanked God that he wasn't 20.

    Ten years ago I was visiting Costa Rica when I found I was in a bad situation. I only knew basic Spanish, and the only 1 I had was some coins and a return ticket to Guatemala in two weeks.

    With the coins, I managed to arrive at Santa Rosa by bus. It was 2 in the middle of the night, but I could see some 3 in the distance, so I 4  toward them.

    I went 5 door to door, explaining my situation. “I can 6 and clean and look after your kids, I can do anything, can you give me a 7 ?”Everybody replied saying “Oh my gosh, but we are so 8.We have no extra food. Maybe you can try the next 9.”

    Finally, I arrived at a Chinese restaurant, the owner of which was incredibly 10 .She told me that her son had a(n) 11 experience. At that time, some other people were very kind to him, and she remembered how 12 that made her feel. She called the Red Cross to 13me. With their help, I spent my 14 days in Costa Rica.

    I've 15 all over the world. But this was one of the best trips, the best two 16 I ever had in my traveling life.

    At first, I felt 17 and stupid for not traveling with a clear plan. But then I realized that when you're in a position to be able to 18, it actually makes people feel happier. Being able to receive kindness is a 19 for other people as well. And kindness 20 more kindness in small ripples(涟漪).

    Jason, our son, was born with cerebral palsy（脑瘫）. My wife and I often comforted him as he faced many 1 in his early years.

    It was 2 to see him regularly chosen last for baseball, but his most 3 time came when he began high school. One afternoon, Jason returned home in 4 and shouted: "I'm never going to school again!" He was 5 with food that other kids had 6 him on the school bus on the way home. Jason later told us what had 7. A few days earlier, Jason had 8 up for the school running team. That day, a few older students made 9 of his performance on the track. I called the headmaster about the 10, and it never happened again.

    One day, as the other kids exercised in the gym, they 11 one lonely runner-Jason jogging around the snow-covered track. A few weeks later, Jason said to me, "Dad, I was ready for the 12. He added that each month, each student 13 an "athlete of the month" and voted for the 14. Jason's name had never been 15. But that day, one student said: "Sir, I would like to propose Jason for athlete of the month. "The coach looked 16. "He works harder than any of us, Sir," the student continued. Tears 17 in Jason's eyes as everyone in the class put their hands up. We, also in tears, looked on as he 18 displayed his certificate.

    Whenever I despair, I think of this story. I 19 myself that challenges are not overcome by 20, but by patience, determination, and faith.