What is a family? Why does it matter? What does it teach us that we can't learn on our own? These ______ seem especially relevant in the holiday season when it is often our tradition to gather as families and ______ together.

My mother was one of twelve children. As they ______, married and had children of their own, most of them lived near enough to gather for holidays at my grandparents' home in a small town.

I don't recall getting many gifts from them. I remember the sense of ______, of being part of something that assured(使确信)me I was loved and not alone.

I took ______ in the laughing, playing and fighting with my crazy cousins.

I watched my granddad and uncles smoke and joke, argue about politics and try to ______ the problems of the world.

I listened to my grandmother, mother and aunts stir pots on the stove and talk about their lives, dreams and disappointments, and gossip about any sister who failed to ______. The food was always delicious. But for me, the   ______ was never the highlight. The highlight was simply being together.

______, they're all gone now. My parents and grandparents, my aunts and uncles have left this world for the next. My cousins are scattered (分散) here and there. And yet the ______ linger(继续存留), along with the love that we shared.

I ______ those memories and the things they taught me. They told me that families aren't ______, but they prepare us to find our way in an imperfect world. They made me ______ that all families are crazy in their own particular ways.

I hope this holiday season will ______ you with lovely memories of the family that raised you, and surround you with all the people who mean“ ______ ”to you now.

Over the years, I never thought of my father as being very emotional. He never was, ________ not in front of me. My father never told me he loved me when I was a child, and never held it against him. I thought that all I really wanted was for my dad to take________in me.

On November 9^th, 1990, I received________that my National Guard unit would be sent to the front. I went on to my father and gave him the news. I could feel he was ________about my going. We never________it much more, and eight days later I was gone.

A few days after Thanksgiving I was able to call my wife. She told me that my father said his usual Thanksgiving prayer (祷告). But this time he________ one last sentence. As he lowered his voice and a tear ran ________his cheek, he said, “ Dear Lord, please________over and guide my son, Rick, with your hand in his time of need as he ________ his country, and bring him to home________.” At that point he burst into tears. I had never seen my father cry, and when I heard this, I couldn’t help but cry myself.

Eight months later, when I returned home from________, I hugged my wife and children in tears. When I came to my father, I gave him a huge hug. He whispered in my ear, “ I’m very proud of you, Son, and I love you.” I looked at that man, my dad,________ in the eyes as I held his head between my hands and I said, “I love you too, Dad,” and we hugged again. And then together, both of us cried.

Ever since that day, my ________ with my father has never been the same. We have had many ________ conversations. I have learned that he’s always being proud of me, and he’s not afraid to say “I love you” any more.________ am I. I’m just sorry it has taken more than 30 years and a war to find it out.

In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition of each new   skill-the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his _______ learning rate, but this can set up   dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any ______. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. _______, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.

Parents vary greatly in their ______of strictness towards their children. Some may be   especially strict in money matters, others are severe over times of coming home at night or   punctuality for meals. In general, the_____ represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child’s own happiness.

As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To _______ a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality(道德). Also, parents should realize that “_______ is better than precept”. If they are not sincere and do not _______   what they preach(说教), their children may grow _______ and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled. A sudden _______   of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and their   morals can be a dangerous disappointment.