From my childhood on, my mother didn’t have a job. If she was asked to _______ a personal questionnaire, she would leave the question “Employment” (工作) _______ . She believed that her job was to be my mother—full time.

There is an old _______ of my mother and father, taken in 1942. In the photo my mother looks very beautiful, I think. When I look at the photo, I see a woman full of _______ in life. If she had _______ her mind to getting a career (事业) , the whole world would have been in her _______ . The story of her youth fully _______ this. She got a brilliant exam in one of the finest schools in the country.

_______ she has always been a housewife and mother. Everyone in the town _______ her for her great effort into charity (慈善) work, but if someone asked her what she did ________ , she answered that she was Robert Greene’s wife, and Robert’s mother.

What I ________ best from my childhood is how it felt to get home from ________ . She was always there ________ for us. Today there are probably many women seeing what she did as a ________ of my mother’s good abilities. I don’t make ________ , either. But so many years later, I still remember how it felt to rush home—and there was mum, waiting for us.

When I was a child my father taught me five words that I’ve used all my life — in my acting career, as a mother, in my business activities. If I ____ that I was afraid of the dark, or if I seemed worried about meeting new people, Dad would say, “Stand porter to your find.”

A porter is a gatekeeper, who stands at a door letting people in or out. Dad would get me to ____ myself stopping destructive things — such as fear — at the door, ____ saying. “Come in” to faith, love and self-assurance.

As an actress, before I went on camera, I’d make sure anxiety stayed out and confidence in my ability came in. As a mother, when I was ____ about my children, I would try not to let worry in but would ____ my mind with trust in them.

Of course, there were always times I’d ____ those words.

In 1972 my husband, Fillmore Crank, and I opened the doors to our own ____ in North Hollywood. This was a new business venture for us, and it was a lot more demanding and complicated than we had ____.

We were on call 24 hours a day. Something was always going ____. Electricity went on the blink, food wasn’t delivered, employees called in sick. Once a flu epidemic suddenly left us with no maids. Fillmore gave me a ____: scrub floors or do the laundry. For 10 days I folded enough king-size sheets to ____ the whole state of California.

Then — there was the ____ crisis. The price of gasoline doubled, and tourism in California ____. How could we fill our beds? What if we kept losing money? What if we failed? Fear and worry were sneaking in. But I caught them just ____. I stood porter.

I stood in the door of my mind and sent fear packing.

These days at the hotel, whenever fear tries to ____, I just smile and point to the sign that reads No Vacancy.

Mom must have made hundreds of pies. But she would not be________ any this year. Two weeks before Thanksgiving, she'd had a stroke and lost the ________ to speak and swallow. She would have to stay in rehab while she ________ those skills. I was sorry that we wouldn't get to enjoy her ________ Thanksgiving, as was our ________. My husband, my brother and I made reservations to have our ________ near Mom's rehab center.

The day before Thanksgiving, Mom ________ her swallowing test; her speech was slowly ________. This was progress, but I couldn't help feeling ________ that Mom would get no Thanksgiving. At the restaurant the next day, we finished with plenty of ________ for dessert, but no time. We'd have to get it to ________ if we were getting to the rehab center on time.

“We'll have three pieces of pumpkin pie,” I said. Mom liked nothing more than to watch her family________ their dinner with a pie. And that would be the closest thing to a ________ Thanksgiving that I could offer her.

“I'm sorry,” the waitress said, “but we only have one slice left.” ________ it was meant for Mom. In the center, we found her in good spirits.

“ You've been doing so well with ________, I thought you might try eating just a little. I reached for the fork, ________ Mom beat me to it. She ________ the container from my hands and dug in. I could ________ by the way she sighed Mom was savoring the first real food she'd had in ________. An angel had ________ the best piece of pumpkin pie I never ate for the Thanksgiving.