I was surprised when I received a short message from my father wishing me a happy birthday.

I had _____ to hear from my mother, my grandmother and my other relatives, but never from my father. Lying in bed, _____ of my father flooded back.

When I was a little boy, I regarded my father as a（n） _____   able to do anything. _____ , things slowly began to _____ . The more I learned, the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us   _____ and, at last, I didn’t even like communicating with him.

My father, in my mind, had no _____ in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother _____ I needed something. He even refused to answer my _____ when I phoned from school. I got ______ the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer ______ me.

Over time, however, I began to wonder whether my ______ was right. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always ______ beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my ______ behavior toward him.

I planned thousands of times to ______ to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed about what I had done.

But that Saturday, I was so ______ by his short message. I ______ then that my father’s love for me had never disappeared. I decided to send a ______ “Thank you, my dear father.”

Two days later, when I returned home, my mother told me that my father had been so ______ when he received my reply. She said he had ______ from morning till night. At that moment, I felt truly happy.

Peter and Lisa Marshall’s wedding day was unforgettable, according to Lisa. But her husband has _________ it. “It’s the _________ part because you want to remember the happy past, and you’re alone in the _________ ,” she said.

Three years ago, at the age of 53, Peter was _________ with early Alzheimer’s（老年痴呆症）. Eventually, he forgot his wife. Lisa became just another nameless _________ , with their entire _________ together erased. And yet, a whisper of their _________ must have remained—because all of a sudden, Lisa said, her husband started courting（求爱）her, as if they’d just started _________ .

One day, when a wedding scene came on TV, Peter pointed to the _________ , “Let’s do it.”

“And I said, ‘Do what?’ And he pointed again. And I said, ‘Do you want to __________ ?!’ And he got this smile on his face and he said, ‘Yeah.’ So he fell in love with me __________ ,” Lisa said.

Lisa __________ . A few months ago, she __________ a wedding for her already husband.

“I can’t even describe to you how __________ it was. He was so __________ and happy. And it was very touching,” she said.

Unfortunately, it was a Cinderella（灰姑娘）moment. The clock struck __________ and by the next morning, this __________ too was lost to the fog. But Lisa had fully __________ that. “I’m the one who’s going to __________ that. And that’s going to help me heal later, because it really is a true love story,” she said.

Alzheimer’s can __________ so much—but fortunately, love is almost always the last to go.

On my last birthday, my mum and I tried fly boarding. Instructed by a coach, we were launched (发射) into the air and slid along the surface,scared but______. We felt nervous but were soon laughing, ______each other to master the technique and shouting encouragement across the water. What an amazing ______ gift from my mother, and a complete ______!

I'm hoping to have lots more ______ like this because I've decided to ______ buying friends and family presents and asked them to do the same. ______, I want us to plan ways to spend time together. This ______ has been coming for a while. Too often, I find myself ______ the shops madly after forgetting the birthday of someone l barely see, or searching for a(n) ______ flavor(味道) of jam for a picky relative. I try to get it right, but chances are these items are unwanted or unused. We're exchanging ______ because that's what is expected. But this ______ doesn't feel right for me. I love to ______ those I care about but would rather do so by cooking their favourite meal or by sharing an experience and creating ______ together.

Fly boarding is not something l thought my mum would want to try, But it ______ to be so much fun, and even more so because I am ______ it with my mum. Sharing time doesn't ______ mean anything as expensive as fly boarding as long as we are truly ______, spending the time together simply having fun. Time can so easily ______ but giving experiences has allowed me to mark my year with things to look forward to and plan quality ______, to reconnect with those I love.