My parents always made extra Christmas specials for my sisters and me. Of course the _______ event was when my sisters and I would run down the _______ to see our Christmas tree surrounded by mountains of _______. We got the bikes, microscopes, cameras, and many others. They were great, though I didn’t _______ appreciate all that my parents did. In fact it was quite common for me to be trapped in _______ gifts and not be able to remember everything I _______.  

As my husband and I were getting _______ to welcome our first child into the world, we thought how to give Christmas gifts. Finally we _______ the decision to set the three-gift _______ for our holiday celebrations. I had ever ________ about the idea in a few magazine articles. And I really ________ how it made the children decide about the things they truly ________. But mostly, I loved the idea of ________ our holiday. I would see my kids get the same number of gifts. I expected a Christmas day when we could actually enjoy each other’s ________, as well as the gifts and the spirit that they were given.  

________ those ideas Joe and I came up before our ________ were born, such as we never let them eat ________ food, or limit TV to only one hour a day, the three-gift rule is one thing that ________ the test of time. We’ve done it each year since Tom was born 18 years ago. Joe and I are a lot less ________ since we are focusing on getting each child the ________ three things that they desire. And we find the kids do appreciate and enjoy the gifts. 

I hope my kids will be building their own families and their own traditions.

In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23­-year­-oldson, Daniel. In a few hours he would be flying to France to _________ a different life. It was a transitional (过渡的) time in Daniel’s life. I wanted to _________ him some words of significance. But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the _________ time I had let such moments pass.

When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. He asked, “What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?” Then he walked _________ the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. The bus drove away and I said nothing. A decade later, a similar _________ played itself out. I drove him to college. As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him _________ and confidence as he started this new stage of life. Again, words _________ me.

Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those _________ opportunities. How many times have I let such moments _________? I don’t find a quiet moment to tell him what he has __________ to me. Or what he might __________ to face in the years ahead. Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything.

What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him? __________ as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter. My father and I loved each other. Yet I always __________ never hearing him put his __________ into words. Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten. Why is it so __________ to tell a son something from the heart?

My mouth turned dry, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly. “Daniel,” I said, “if I could have picked, I would have picked you.” That’s all I could say. He hugged me. For a moment, the world __________, and there were just Daniel and me. He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn’t understand what he was saying. All I was __________ of was the stubble (短须) on his chin as his face pressed __________mine. What I had said to Daniel was __________. It was nothing. And yet, it was __________.