My mom has been and will always be my biggest inspiration. She is a single parent of eight, and I have no idea how she _______. Throughout the years, my mom has overcome many hardships which could easily _______someone with little faith.

Even _______doctors questioned if my little sister Jessica would live to see the age of 1, my mom never lost _______. After countless visits to multiple doctors, my mom _______to bring her home and make the best of my sister’s life _______receiving the same results from different hospitals.

Jessica’s numerous hospital visits definitely _______her, but my mom never showed signs of _______. Her strength helped Jessica through every _______time. No matter how confused Jessica was, my mom always made her feel as if there was absolutely nothing to __________, which enabled Jessica to live the life of a __________child. She attended a public school, went to parties to dance around excitedly. We actually __________that she was even sick.

__________, things began to take a turn for the worse. Around her 6th birthday, Jessica lost sight, which was __________by loss of sensation in her left arm at the age of 5. However, this was it and doctors had no __________. The whole family were heartbroken and __________, at a point of no return. Once again, my mom found a way to__________us all. She made it her job to let us know that she had a strong support system. She decided to __________her job and attend to her every need. With my mom sleeping by her side every single night, I noticed their __________grow stronger than anything. Now Jessica is 20 years old and is enjoying her college life.

My mom gets us to realize that no matter how __________our trials may appear, we have a support system. We are a family that will always be there for one another.

I was excited to take my dog Georgie to the river the other day, as it’s within walking distance of our new home. Having spent her first six years in a cage, George had never seen a body of _________, and I wanted to get there before sunset to watch her _________ it.

I was growing increasingly _________ about all the stops. She _________ the grass, dirt and trees, and licked whatever was stuck to the road. These were all new _________ for her and she took her time studying them.

When I accepted that it was _________ to hurry her along, I _________ my cell phone and began texting. I thought that I needed something to do while Georgie was _________ us down.

Then, I heard the cicadas (蝉), and I remembered that the sound of cicadas is my favorite sound in the world. That awakened something buried within me that _________ for the simple pleasures that had been ____________ by technology.

I made a __________ decision to be present, and to enjoy the ____________ to the river, just like Georgie. The journey was just as ____________ as the final destination would be, and it took that Georgie to ____________ me.

Now. I ____________ the wonder of the winding plants on our path. I felt the occasional warm raindrop on my skin from a gray sky ____________ to burst at any moment. I smelled the grass, the flowers, the dirt and the air. I treasured each one ____________, as if discovering them for the first time.

As we neared our destination. I realized something even more ____________ It didn’t matter whether we even reached the river. Why must there always be a ____________? Georgie had no idea that we had a destination. She was present for the journey, and she ____________ every bit of that sweet experience.