Years ago, we celebrated our oldest son’s first birthday by holding a super party. I spent months ______, cutting out handmade banners（横幅）and making all kinds of decorations. I kept

I didn’t know exactly why I stuck to ______ a party like that, but I felt this unspoken ______. It was a feeling that my ______ as a mom and my love for my son were tied to how ______ this party was. Actually my son was turning one year old, and he had no idea what was going on. ______, this clearly meant nothing to him.

I tried to ______ other people and maybe even prove something to myself, only to find it made me ______. On his birthday, I put on a ton of makeup（化妆品） to _____ my stress and smiled to our ______ even though I nearly broke down. It was the ______ party because of the memories attached to it! I ruined a ______ memory for me as a mother and decided to make a ____.

Last weekend, we celebrated my other son Hudson’s sixth birthday. He asked a Ninjago theme, so a week before the party, I searched Amazon (a shopping website) and ______ a banner and some basic party materials as he ______. On that day, we ordered a big meal and used disposable（一次性的）plates to avoid hours of cleaning up. The party was ______ but perfect. As Hudson went to bed that night, he told me it was his best birthday ever.

Parents’______ for kids does not lie in the complexity of celebrating kids’ birthday.

There was a boy in India who was sent by his parents to a boarding school (寄宿学校). Before being sent away this boy was the ______ student in his class. He was at the top in every competition. He was a ______.

But the boy ______ after leaving home and attending the boarding school. His grades started ______. He hated being in a group. He was ______ all the time. And there were especially dark times when he felt like ______ himself. All of this ______ because he felt worthless and no one loved him. His parents started ______ the boy. But they did not ______know what was wrong with him. ______ his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and talk with him.

They sat ______ the bank of the lake near the school. The father ______ asking him casual (随便的) questions about his classes, teachers and ______. After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son, ______ I am here today?” The boy answered back, “To ______ my grades?” “No, no,” his dad replied, “I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me. I want to see you happy. I don’t care about ______. I care about you. I care about your happiness. You are my world.” These words ______ the boy’s eyes to fill with tears. He ______ his dad. They didn’t say anything to each other for a long time.

Now the boy had everything he wanted. He knew there was someone on this ______ who cared for him deeply. He ______ the world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him sad!