I had a busy to-do list today and was about to get started when my sister called.

I talked with her for a short time and could ______my seven-year-old niece(外甥女) in the background, full of energy as always, and getting blamed for something. I ______ to speak with her, both because I love talking to her and because I was ______ that I could help redirecting some of her energy in a more ______ direction and give my sister a break.

I listened and talked with her on the phone, giving her as much ______ as she needed to share her thoughts and ______ herself.

The conversation went for quite a while. ______ my time, she gifted me her funny stories and sense of ______. She said the cutest things that always ______ me and caused me to laugh out loud! She told me about her friend’s birthday party, which ______ a cake, chocolate ice cream, and sand art! Then there were   ______ about her new little brother, cute animals she saw recently and of course, the weather!

Forty minutes later she ______, saying, “Well, I should ______ have let you get going.”

At one point in the conversation my ______ had turned back to my “to-do” list, but then I consciously (有意识地) turned it back to her. I chose to be ______ with her and give my full attention to her so that she ______ important and special. Actually, she is ______ important and special. Children are so precious (宝贵的) and ______ so fast! And we can learn so much from them, including the ______ they see the world. When choosing between my niece and my to-do list, I ______ that chores and errands (差事) could wait — every time!

A couple had a son eleven years after they married. They were a(n)________ couple and the boy was the apple of their eye. When the boy was around four years old, one day the father was very ________ after work so he asked his wife to ________ their son. The mother, who was very busy in the kitchen, totally ________ it.

Later, the boy lost his ________ on the street. When the son was found missing, the mother ________ to look for him, but she didn't find him. The mother felt extremely ________ and didn't know how to ________ her husband.

When the father went to the police station after hearing that the son was ________, he looked at his wife and said just four words. The husband just said “I love you, darling.”

If the wife had picked up the son earlier, the whole thing would not have happened.________, there is no point in blaming (责备) anyone. His wife had also lost her only ________

What his wife needed at that moment was ________ and understanding from her husband. That is what the husband ________ his wife. Several weeks later, with the help of the police, the couple finally ________ their lost son. The family's relationship became ________ over that time.

Sometimes we spend lots of time asking who is to blame. We miss many chances to give each other support and let each other feel the warmth of human relationships.

Mrs. Doyle was a hero. She will be awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration, in honor of her in ______ helping to liberate the country from the Nazis.

Mrs. Doyle was one of the female agents ______ for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She engaged in gathering ______ ahead of the D-Day landings. “It wasn’t until after my first round of ______ that I was told to become a member of it,” she said in a rare interview.

“We ______ how to get in a high window, and how to climb over roofs without being ______,” she recalled.

After the training, she was ______ behind enemy lines under a code name, Paulette. ______ aged 23, she dressed up like a poor 14-year-old French girl to make the Germans less suspicious. She used bicycles to _______the area, passing information through coded messages.

The ______ would take half an hour to send and the Germans need an hour and a half to pick up the ______. She would have just enough time to send her message and move on before being ______.

She would sleep rough in forests and was ______ to hunt for food, or stay with our supporters. “One family I stayed with told me we were ______ a squirrel,” she told the Army News, “I found out later it was a rat. I was half ______ so I didn’t care.”

It wasn’t until the last 15 years or so that Mrs. Doyle made known her career as a ______ “My eldest son found out by ______ something on the Internet, and my children ______ I send off for my medals,” she said.

“I was asked if I wanted them to be ______ presented to me, and I said no, I didn’t, it was my family who wanted them.”

Laurent Contini, the French ambassador to New Zealand, said, “I have deep ______ for her bravery and it will be with great honor that I will present her with the award.”