The alarm clock was ringing! I got out of bed and walked over to my desk and turned it off. It was 6:30 in the morning and I was very tired. It was very ____ outside and I couldn’t see anything! My mother was already ____ and told me to go and take a shower because I was going to be late for ____. I took a shower for about ten minutes and then I came out and took my towel and ____ myself. Then I got my ____ and put all my books in it so I wouldn’t forget anything when I went to school.

I walked to the ____ so that I could make myself some food. I ate and ____ for about half an hour. My mother still wasn’t downstairs to ____ me to school, so where was she? I went to my parents’ bedroom and saw my mother ____! She must have gone back to bed!

I ____ her up and said, “I’m going to be late for school!”

She turned around and said, “Go and look _____.”

I went to the window and opened the curtains. It was ____ now and I could see outside. But I didn’t see the black road or the green grass. I saw ____ everywhere. There was snow on the trees, the roads, and even my basketball hoop! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I ____ my mother had tricked me! She wasn’t really sleeping; she was just ____. It was a snowy day and I didn’t have any school! I ran up to my mother and ____ her because I was so happy. She gave me a jacket, books, a cap and a pair of gloves and told me to ____ in the snow for a little while. It was really fun but really ____, and I came inside after an hour. My dad was sitting at the table with two cups of ____ chocolate, and one was for me! I drank my hot chocolate really ____ so it would last longer, and I felt warm again. It was one of the best snowy days ever!

When I am in middle school, my mom confirms that I am, in fact, a baked good. “Children are like bread,” she _________ to me one night at the kitchen table as we talk about the kind of person I am and what I will become. “You can choose _________ which you will add to the mix when they are younger and there is still time to _________ them after the dough (面团) has risen. But _________ you put them in the oven, it’s difficult to do much else.” “You’re already in the oven,” she tells me. “It’s all you now.”

My mother always invited me to _________ her production, especially during our traditional Baking Day. My small but essential tasks filled me with _________ to help. I watch as she kneads (揉) dough briskly and skillfully. This _________ will become any delicious food I can name, a cookie, or a muffin.

My most important job is to pay attention and _________ as she explains each step of the process. Each time she _________ something in or out of the oven, she notes the time. Nothing will be burned under her watch. When it’s time to __________ the labors of our day, she will hold it to admire her creations. Sometimes I __________ her looking at me the same way.

Over time, my mother’s dough metaphor developed into __________ of a touchstone. I am now nearly the same age my mother was. Only recently have I __________ her metaphor was never about the making and baking of the dough; it was about __________ her work and then letting go. Her occasional glance of admiration and a glimpse of love well says how __________ she is of her most cherished dough.

When my grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, went to live in the nurses station 5 years ago, I tried many things to keep her occupied. But it was only her word search book that kept her ______. Gradually, she began to think of it as her job and it kept her from ______.

Last night, when I came to her and said hello, she just looked at me ______. I introduced myself and told her I was her granddaughter. She seemed ______ about who I was. Obviously, she tried to find this word in her ______. So I helped her find it with fingers and ______ it for her with a pencil.

Later, I suggested we go outside, and she agreed. Then she was just staring at me as if trying to figure me out. I told her ______ I was her granddaughter. “Oh, okay” she said ______ but still didn’t really know. She just wanted to be kind.

And after we went ______ and I got her ready for and into bed, she told me to come ______ and we kissed and hugged real tight ______ we did for the first time. It wasn’t the first time though and sooner or later there would be a ______ time.

For now, I feel the blessing of the ______ although I have a sinking feeling that our days are numbered. It doesn’t ______ if the word “granddaughter” holds no ______ anymore — we are bound by love not labels.