Mom was late once again!!

“Sorry, honey. I left the office only a little bit late, but the _________ caused really bad traffic, and I…”

I hung up. All too often, situations like this happen. Being a teenager is not _________, and my parents often make me feel less important than their work.

In third grade, I broke my arm at school. When the school nurse called my mom, she was too _________ to answer. When the phone call _________ my father, he sighed and said, “I’m in the middle of my research.” I waited in the nurse’s office for hours before my parents finally _________ to take me to hospital.

I wished my parents could spare me some time. To make my parents take me seriously, I _________. I tried to establish my own authority (权威) by _________ their schedule. My mom did everything possible to settle the problem, but nothing _________ until she met that adviser.

One day after I shut my door in her face, my mom didn’t complain or cry. _________, she knocked and said, “I have something to tell you.” I opened the door. “Today I met a really good adviser. He said that every time your daughter is angry, she is just saying: I __________ you.”

It occurred to me that my anger was merely a mask for me to __________ my loneliness and disappointment. But facing one’s __________ need is the first step towards being happier. This concept not only helped things between my parents and me but also enabled me to handle conflicts and emotions. I started to pay attention to other people’s __________. When an angry customer approached me at my volunteering job, he was saying, “I need more service.” When a homeless person shouted to me in a parking lot, he was simply saying, “I need food and help.”

I am now able to see __________ the fog of anger and see the real face and heart of other person.

Five minutes after I hung up on her, my mom’s car finally appeared through the fog. She rolled down her window and said, “Let’s go to a hotpot place, shall we?” I __________. “OK, but promise me you won’t be late again.”

I was successful at my job. I worked very hard, but it _________ me and my family a fabulous lifestyle. I’d worked for the same company for twenty years and had worked my way up to department director. _________, one afternoon last May, I was called to the office, and it was _________ explained to me that they were letting me go. I just sat there _________ they talked on and all I could think was, “I’ve _________ .” I’d been so well respected, but _________ I was of no value.

For six weeks, I was in a very _________ place. I wandered around my house like a zombie(僵尸). I could _________ things needed doing, but would not do anything. My beliefs in looking forward and seeing the positive in everything deserted me.

Then, in late June, my youngest son’s football team _________ the city cup final. The year before, he’d been very sad when I __________ the same final, so he was __________ when I told him I’d go. Not only did they win, but the look on his face as he saw me __________ him on lit up with joy. From then on, I spent the summer enjoying my sons and their passions(激情). I attended match after match and performances of my elder son’s band—I __________ went to another city to watch him play. These moments were so __________. My life had been so much devoted to __________ for so long, and I felt __________ that my sons were happy to welcome me into their world.

__________, being unemployed gave me back a sense of purpose—I was someone’s mum! I felt a sense of being __________ again. Now I feel more positive about my professional __________ and I’m getting on better with my family than I ever have. Losing my job made me realize just how __________ it is to achieve real balance in life.