Traveling in Vietnam was like visiting a mysterious neighbor. You have lived next door to each other for years but know very 1 about what happened on 2 side of the fence.

    I travelled there last August. A(n) 3 180-kilometre trip from a Chinese border town to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, 4 an adventurous eight hours. That's 5 the country still doesn't have a modern expressway system. The major passage going through the country is only a two-way road. 6, many areas are mountainous.

    Vietnamese drivers are 7 and fearless. They compete with each other at full speeds no matter how scared the8feel. When the bus shook us violently for the hundredth time, the driver made a 9 to make us feel better. "See, this is just a(n)10Vietnamese people give you, a free massage(按摩) service."

    It was midnight11I reached that hotel. Switching on the television, I was12by something: All the13in the TV plays spoke in the same voice. 14, modern Korean plays and historical Chinese plays are 15 with the Vietnamese. But it seemed they didn't have enough16to dub(为……配音)all these programs. So, the same boring woman appears17 every TV play to speak for the roles. The next morning when I opened the window, I found myself in a huge "18". The buildings in the streets were 19 in all kinds of colors you can imagine. Vietnamese are allowed to20their houses as they like. Each one was different. The large number of colors brought the city alive.

    Once a gentleman was traveling on a train. He felt 1and got off at a station in search of water. When he reached the water tap (水龙头), the2started. He ran back but3it.

    It was getting4and he decided to spend the night at the station. The next morning he asked the ticket office about the next train and was told it would be on the next5. So he decided to find a place for a day's6 . He went to the nearby hotel to ask for a room but found 7.

    At last he8a small house. He asked the9 whether he could stay in his house for a day. The owner immediately10 then served him food and gave him a room to stay.11he did not ask anything in return.

    At seven, the gentleman heard a 12at the door. The owner opened the door. The gentleman saw a man dressed in 13 clothes enter the house and14the owner to pay his debts (债务).

    The gentleman came to know that the owner was in need of15. The next morning he left a pack in the drawer of the room and16. When the owner found the pack, he saw that there was a17written to him, which read: “You 18 me but did not expect anything from me. Yesterday evening I heard the19 between you and the stranger and20that you were in need of money. This is what you need.”

    I was going through my son Matthew's backpack when I saw an envelope in the bottom of it. Immediately, I knew it was a “thank you” card from one of his1. Totally not necessary since my Christmas gifts to them are my way of saying “Thank you”. I2I read it quickly. And then I stopped.

    I3 the card and read it again. One word caught my attention. “I love working with our Matthew.” One word “Our”. That one word4the meaning of the sentence for me. If she had written “I love working with Matthew”, I would know that she loves working with my son.5by adding that one word, “our”, it meant “I love working with this boy who6here, is accepted here and we all take responsibility for caring for.”

    I7 knew this, of course, seeing a blog I wrote previously, but it's always good to be

    8. In that blog post I mentioned ten reasons why his 9is the right place for him. Since that blog we have had his IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting, where I was10of that feeling again. In that meeting, someone 11“Everyone loves Matthew. We all love Matthew”. And it was genuine and 12. As we went around the room and the staff

    13us on information about Matthew, it was apparent that it went way beyond sharing what he is doing14and behaviorally. Each person had a unique little15to tell about Matthew. Stories that show that they really know who Matthew is and that they16 him.

    In fact just today I had written a note in his communication book that it was 17

    Matthew to see new snow and not be able to play in it. Later in the day I got an email and a picture of Matthew18 with snow in a big container inside the school.

    As I was reflecting on this, I realized that as a family we are really lucky 19school isn't the only place where they think of him as “our Matthew”. It 20 to other parts of our lives as well — our friends, our family, our neighborhood, and our church.

    One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. "Sweetie, my company wants to 1 me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done 2 and allowing you to skip a grade, but you'll have to 3 your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?" She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was puzzled. The question kept me 4 for the rest of the night. I had said "yes" but for the first time, I realized the 5 decisions adults had to make.

    For almost four years, my mother would 6 us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd 7 wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never replace her 8 and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

    During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large 9  apartment, I became 10 how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil herself. It was then that I started to appreciate the tough choices she had to make on 11 family and work. 12  difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you made the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with passion and a 13 attitude.

    Back home, I 14 myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she 15 to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be 16. I learnt how to take care of myself and set high but achievable17.

    My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the 18 has really taught me. Sacrifices 19 in the end. The separation between us has proved to be 20 for me.

    Our apartment has been hit by a "hurricane". Every bit of furniture is 1 with paper chains, scissors, tape and modeling clay. 2, I'm so exhausted tonight, recovering from a surgery.

    The phone rings—for the sixth time in less than an hour. We know it is my mother, again. A stroke claimed her brain, but not her life. She is troubled by a severe mental 3— She has no idea that she has 4 the things she is about to say a million times. Nor can she recall I had a 5.

    Each time she calls, I play a game with 6 called "How Good a Person Can I Be?" I've won five rounds of the game tonight; I am due for a 7 this time.

    "Mom!" I 8. "You are not being removed from your home! And we visited two days ago!" Silence. Then:

    "I was only calling to say hi." My mother continues, "Why are you yelling?"

    I sink into the couch, aware that my daughter is 9. She hears me scold my mother and lose my 10. I have not only failed at being a good person; I have failed at being a good 11 to my daughter.

    "Can I talk to Grandma Ellie?" My five-year-old 12 the phone. 13, I hand it over.

    Then, I hear my mother 14 through the receiver. "Sweetheart! How are you? Did you go to school today?"

    What magic is this? All she says is "Hi, Grandma," Out of the phone comes a waterfall of good 15. My mother tells her how much she loves her and how lovely her voice sounds.

    I am not tired or angry; I am 16 inside, watching my kindergartner 17 her fragile grandmother with such skillfulness. I'm fascinated by their 18.

    The mess in our apartment still 19 around me. I listen to my daughter whispering to her grandmother, caring for her with extreme 20.

    Geoff Hoffman, discovered that his dog, Bridget, was missing after his home was broken into on Dec 20th. That night, Hoffman penned an enthusiastic1to his Facebook followers to help him find the dog. "She is my source of2and she is my whole life."

    The next day, Hoffman, who served in Afghanistan for eight years went into3mode(模式). "Sergeant（中士）Hoffman was back," he says. "I was on4and told myself I would5searching for Bridget under two conditions: She returned home or I knew with certainty that she was6."

    During the four days Bridget went7, Hoffman reached out to his local police and fire departments, along with City Hall, asking officials to8his story with the public. He printed more than 100 cards featuring Bridget's9and advertising a "large reward"10 her return and registered with missing dog websites. Hoffman also created a Facebook group with hundreds of followers, called Bring Bridget Back, in the hopes of 11awareness for his search.

    On the morning of Christmas Eve, his efforts 12. "My girlfriend was driving down a rural road, a few miles from my house, when she saw Bridget," says Hoffman. "She was lying by the side of the road but when she saw my girlfriend, she started13her tail."

    While the dog was generally14, she hadn't eaten for days, along with a few slight cuts on her left leg. "It made me wonder whether someone15her for dog fighting and either cut or tried to16her to make her aggressive," says Hoffman. "Maybe the thief got17 by all the media attention and18her on a random road."

    Hoffman called the19a Christmas miracle and a holiday blessing and said "I am speechless with20."