Time flies fast. When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, every time he asked me to _______ the hammer, just so we would have a time for a（n）     _______ with each other. I _______ saw my dad drinking or taking a night out, and all he did after _______ was taking care of his family.

I _______ and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when several _______ later I bought a house, my dad was _______ it by himself for three days in the 80°F summer heat. All he _______ was to hold his paintbrush and talk to him. But I was too _______ in those days, I did not find any time for a conversation with my dad.

One Sunday __________ we had a telephone talk as usual, and I noticed that my dad had __________ some things that we discussed lately. Because I was in a hurry to deal with something, our conversation was __________. Few hours later that day came a call. My father was in hospital with an aneurysm（动脉瘤）.__________ I bought a ticket for a flight and __________ I was thinking about all __________ occasions（机会） to have a talk with my dad.

By the time I __________ at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have __________ for a conversation with me. After his death I __________ much more about him, and even more about myself. All he ever asked me was my time and __________. And now he has all my __________ every single day.

We were sitting in the doctor’s waiting room when my father said something that _________ me. “Are you my daughter or my sister? ” My heart broke as I stared at him.

The doctor told us my father had Alzheimers (阿尔茨海默病). It was a big _________ for me. I was facing a battle on two fronts, emotional and physical, and I was _________ for it. The disease didn’t snatch him away suddenly. Instead, it slowly _________ him. It made me sad to watch my father hide his _________ to read the clock.

As the disease continued to progress, his behaviors became _________ . We had to face another painful truth — we could no longer provide my father with the level of _________ to keep him safe at home. He _________ to move to a skilled nursing facility.

Babies are born helpless; parents keep on _________ . Children grow up and learn that relationships are reciprocal (相互的). However, the parent-child relationship isn’t __________ . The parents remain the giver, and the children remain the taker. That is the natural order of the world — __________ the child becomes the parents caregiver.

When a(n) __________ appears, we can do something to change the fact. __________ , my father is alive and taken good care of in the nursing home. If he can __________ the illness, then I can make it. I will give him everything he deserves to have as a great father. And we will be awarded a(n) __________ future by doing our best.

I was visiting members of my late husband John’s medical team. They had worked hard when he _________ lung cancer. Each time I _________them for all they had done, I felt myself gaining closure.

Then I _________ to John’s favorite Chinese restaurant. We’d gone there after so many of John’s treatments. I wanted to talk to the manager, who knew about our _________ and had always been kind to us. When I pulled over, I could hear John’s voice in my cars. The _________ John told me every time I got behind the wheel. “Drive _________.”

This phrase was one of the ways he showed his _________. I knew when he said it, he was also saying, “I care about you.”

I took the manager aside. “I want you to know that John had _________.”

She _________. I gave her a hug __________ that John and I had so many people who cared. We exchanged some __________ of him and shared a few laughs.

As I was about to leave, I spotted a fortune cookie left by the manager. Should I__________ it? I didn’t need a fortune to tell me that life without John would still be__________. Still, just for fun, I opened the cookie and __________ the small piece of paper inside.

“The __________ ahead is long,” my fortune read. Drive safely.