There are all kinds of enemies, and one of the arts of living is to learn to tell them apart. There is a kind of enemy who ______ meant to be an enemy at all. He’s not mad at you; he’s mad at the world, and you are wandering around on his lonely battlefield and ______ lines of fire.

Let me tell you about one of them. Years ago, I ______ my two girls from South America and put them in school. They talked a ______ language that was neither English nor Spanish, and their ______ gave them a hard time, especially Lolla.

Pat and Peggy came home ______ almost every day, so I decided to cheer them up by ______ a party. Their tears dried ______. Right away they got ______ and offered many ideas. However, when I ______ which friends to invite, the tears started again. They said they had nothing but _______________. Then I had one of my rare ______. “Let’s invite all your enemies and we’ll fill them up with ice cream and cake.” Little Pat and Peggy ______ knowing looks.

The party was a(n) ______, and the best time was had by the ______ enemy, Lolla, who rolled on the floor and screamed with ______. Pat and Peggy never came home crying from school anymore.

One day Lolla’s father ______ and said, “I came to thank you for asking my little girl to the party. ______ ever did it before.” His ______ left me deep in thought. Are the Lollas left out because they are enemies, or do they become enemies because they are left out? Love your enemies and do good to them, because ______, it works!

When most toddlers can speak small sentences and use about 200 words, my three-year-old Kimber knew only fifty small words. She expressed herself in different ways._________ways! She pointed, climbed, gestured, cried, and even learned baby sign language. But Kimber did not use_________if she could help it. Kimber was tested, and we discovered she had_________delay. Later, we learned this was_________processing and executive function disorders, which made it very_________for her to learn new sounds, letters, and pronunciations._________, Kimber was smart enough to_________that she didn't say words the same way as everyone else. If she couldn’t say words right, she didn’t want to say them at all. And she hated to be_________so she didn't use words ever.

That_________one hot summer day while we were visiting a friend. My friend had a litter of kittens____________to give to good homes. Most of the kittens hid in the closet when my____________toddler approached them, but one little grey one did not____________. Soon, they played together. When it was time to leave, my friend suggested we take Kitty home.____________Kimber had the kitten over her shoulder and its paws were____________her shirt, I agreed. The next morning, I saw the most amazing thing. She was talking! “Good Kitty Lie down.” Kimber said, petting the cat. My eyes were filled with tears as I witnessed the____________. That charming cat inspired Kimber to overcome her own____________and use the words she knew! I sat____________listening to her talking to her new little pet. “Kitty, come here. It's time to play "Seven words in a____________from Kimber's lips were all that I needed to hear. Kitty never went back to my friend. He won his____________in our home. He was the perfect pet to help Kimber through his____________love and acceptance.

I was called into the principal’s office but I had no idea what I had done wrong. When I arrived, my brother Brian was there. He had been _______. Brian grasped my hand and said, “Amanda has been in a car accident.”

Every inch of my body went _______ as I realized what he had said. My sister was injured. One question sounded over and over in my head — how _______ this have happened? _______ she was only 17, Amanda was one of the safest drivers I knew. I felt shocked and terrified.

My brother and I _______ immediately for the hospital my sister was in. When we arrived, my sister’s face was _______ from the eyebrows up and you could see blood everywhere. She was _______ to several machines. My mom and dad stood at her side crying.

My sister looked up at me with blood-filled eyes, where I expected to see fear, I saw _______. She said to me, “I love you, Rence.” I suddenly realized how _______ I tell my sister I love her. I tried to ________ her, but she wasn’t listening any more, because some doctors were taking her away to the x-ray room.

As they ________ my sister I wanted to scream out, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t move, speak or even cry until she was around the corner. Then the ________ came.

Though everyone kept telling me she would be ________, something made me worried. Every moment that passed allowed the doubt in my mind to grow ________. Finally, the doctor walked down the hall and stood quietly in front of us. It was then ________ the long-awaited words came. Amanda was going to be okay.

My heart leaped as I realized I ________ had a sister. She would need a lot of plastic surgery (整容手术), but she was ________.

A year later, even though my sister and I quarrel sometimes, every time I see her face and ________ the large scar that stretches across it, I remember to tell her that I ________ her. I remember when I almost didn’t have the ________ to tell her again how much I love her.