When I was eight, I had a terrible stomachache at school. My teacher sent me to the office and called my mom to _________ me up. About five minutes later, I heard aloud car horn (喇叭) and it turned out later that my mom was _________ for the honking (按喇叭声). After being _________ that she had to come inside and sign me out, my mom came in wearing a housecoat and slippers. And I _________ myself right then I’d never _________ my children when I was a mother myself.

_________ , my mother appeared to kick the annoying behavior into high gear when I entered high school. Whenever I brought a friend home, she’d peek into my room and _________ to be on her way to get the laundry. “Oh, Elena, ” she’d say. “How are you? How’s your mom? ” At such moments I always thought when I was a mom, I’d respect my kids’ need for _________ and not interfere so much in their lives.

I had the best _________ not to turn into my mother. Then I had my own children, and __________ turning into your mother is sometimes__________ . When I was a kid, I didn’t understand my mother’s __________ , but now I do. My mother walked into my school in her sleepwear not to embarrass me out because I was in __________ , and that mattered more than anything else, just like I once ran into school wearing a __________ T-shirt when one of my children needed me. It’s not that she didn’t respect my need for space. She did. It’s just after taking care of me for so many years and watching me __________, she was letting go — just not as quickly as I was.

One hot summer we discovered ice cream sandwiches at the corner store. Although it was expensive, we managed to buy one and taste it, and then we were _________ after that.

My dad worked nights. When he came home one _________, I heard the jingle (叮当声) of change in his pants and something _________ slowly came into my mind. On hearing his sleeping sounds, I _________ in and took a handful of change. It was enough for my friends and me to eat like greedy _________. And I became a hero to my band of friends.

That went on every day for about two weeks. One day there was no change in dad’s pocket so I felt _________ for a moment, then took out two whole dollars. I had been OK with taking the change, but those dollars made my face _________. Even before we began enjoying sandwiches, my stomach felt sick —if dad knew what I had done, he’d kill me.

Early that afternoon, I _________ myself in our basement, crying. Feeling guilty and _______, I regretted having stolen the money. Just then my dad came in. Touching my head gently, he asked what had happened to me. Gathering my _________, I told the truth. In a moment I will never __________ he said, “Son, I’ve known since the first day you took the money.” So shocked and __________ was I to hear my dad’s words that I couldn’t __________ a single word. Dad explained that he had been waiting for the moment when I could realize my mistakes and he felt __________ that I had the courage to admit it. Deeply touched by what he said, I __________ my dad and promised to be an honest person.

“You can do anything you want to do as long as you set your mind to it and stick with it.” I remember hearing those words from my ______ ever since I was a little girl. Through the years I’ve grown up ______ them and using them to ______ me. You see, there is no one I ______more than my mother.

When I was four years old, my mother and father got divorced (离婚), although he didn’t ______ with us after I was two. At the time, my brother was only eight. Being a single parent is a ______ enough job in itself but my mother also worked full­time.

Most people who heard about this ______ probably thought that at least one of the children would ______ getting into some kind of ______ whether with the law or something else, but that never ______. My mother taught both of us about morals, goals and rules, along with many other things.

Although she ______all week, my mom always had ______ for us, whether it was to take us to our baseball and soccer games or if we just ______ someone to talk to. At one point I remember clearly that I had a speech problem, and that she made me ______every night over and over again until I got it ______.

All in all, I feel I can ______ with my mother about anything, with her acting more as a ______ than a parent. I realize not everyone has a mother like mine, which makes me ______her even more. After everything she has done for me, I want to make her ______ by being the first woman in my family to go to college and get a(n) ______.