It was hot and humid. I _______ myself out of the house to ride my bike along the Hudson River. I had _______ myself I would learn to ride with no hands and my summer freedom is decreasing. _______ lifting my hands before losing balance, I rode steadily up the bike path.

Later, I parked my bike and lay down on a wooden _______ Just as I got _______, a man appeared in my vision. “It looks like it’s going to rain,” he said. “I was just like you once,” the man continued. “One day, I went for a bike ride and lay down on a bench, _______ it started to rain. People walking by me probably thought I was _______” I listened, with the rain falling down. “Rain is like therapy (治疗),” he said, “_______ you just lie there and let it fall on your face.”

“I’m taking a tai chi class, and there’s this word, Kua, that means ‘Everything in the _______ is connected.’” He began to sway (摇晃) a little. “When the shoulders move, the hips move. Everything is connected.”The rain fell ________, and I told the man I’d better get home.“Nice to meet you,” he said, and we called each other’s bikes beautiful before ________ forever.

I had never ridden in the rain before. I was ________ that I wouldn’t be able to practice my hands-free skills on the way home. But then a(an)________ thought came into my mind: Why not? The wind and icy summer rain beat my face ________ my bent knees took turns being first and I ________ my arms in the air, my balance holding strong. I yelled to no one ________ I’d never been more truly in the moment. Everything was connected.

Never Too Old To Be Young Again

A winter storm threw inches of snow in the mountains of my home. Schools were ________, roads were blocked and all I wanted was to stay in bed. However, I knew I had to get the day started, so I got up and ________ outside. The snow was over my shoes. The ________ wind was chapping (使干裂) my lips. My back ________ when I thought I had to clean the snow.

But when I looked on the ________ that covered the ground, I couldn’t ________ but smile. It was so beautiful. In the distance, I could hear the sound of the snow plow (破裂) on the road, the barking of a ________ dog and the laughter of children ________ their day off from school.

The sweet music of laughter brought back ________ of winters past. I remembered catching snowflakes on my tongue, making snow angels,________ down hills and losing the snowball fights with first my brothers and then my children. Standing there in a warm coat of remembering made the wind less cold and my back less ached. I ________ my head, stuck out my tongue and for the first time in years caught a ________ on it. It tasted like ________, like joy and like love. I thanked God for all of my memories and for the simple truth that you are never too old to be young again.

May you always feel young no matter how ________ you are. May you always be delighted in simple joys of life. May you always enjoy your happiness. And may you always ________ your love, laughter and warmth onto others.