I loved my first grade teacher. She was Mrs. Gross, who had such a sweet smile and was _______ to us. I wasn’t sure what her_______was at the time but she already looked very grandmotherly. She always spoke gently and never _______her students. To me it felt like having a second grandmother as my teacher. I clearly remember the times I spent in her _______.

One such_______ is still with me to this day. We were doing subtraction (减法) math problems while Mrs. Gross walked around the classroom_______our work. I finished first and lifted my_______up, finding that Mrs. Gross was walking towards me. She looked at my work and _______, “Well done, Joe. You’re a very_______boy.” As she walked on, she gently touched my shoulder and I felt ________. It felt so good to be________. From that moment on I always tried my best. I always wanted to be what she________me to be. She made me have the________to be the best person I could be. With her gentle love and________I started down a wonderful path that I am ________on today.

David Whyte, a famous author, wrote, “People are________, and one good word is bread for a thousand.” I think the good words Mrs.Gross gave me helped me________my own good words with others. I think that kindness I ________helped me to give love to others.

We should learn to________. Every kind word, every loving act, every helping hand is a ________in the eyes of someone in need. Fill your days with good words then. Make your life a gift of love.

Before you put on a frown (皱眉)，make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.

The last time my eighty-three-year-old mother visited, I asked how she was feeling. It’s a valid question. She has, _______, had two knee replacements, a metal rod placed in her femur, and arthritis (关节) is settling into her bones so _______ she can no longer roll the dough (生面团) to make her famous cinnamon crisps. She moves _______ and with precision (准确) to avoid another _______.

But she hasn’t _______ moving. In fact, she and my father attended their first Jimmy Buffet concert this summer, where they sat on the lawn. Here’s the thing about my parents: They _______ say no to an invitation or a new _______. If they can make it work, they’re willing to _______ just about anything. When we need them to come stay with the kids, we have to get on their _______ far in advance.

They ________ us daily.

When asked how she was feeling, my mother responded without an ounce (盎司) of ________: “Well, almost everything hurts every day. Some days are better than others. But you know what I’ve discovered? It doesn’t ________ a bit to smile. So that’s what I’ve decided to do...________ at everyone I see. I may not be able to do all the things I used to do, but I can at least ________ someone’s day.”

It is such simple wisdom, and such a profound shift.

Moving the ________ from what we don’t have, from what we’ve lost, from how we’ve been burdened to what we can ________ others is the difference between living in the dark and giving off ________. And illumination (光亮), of course, makes traveling so much easier for us and for others.

In chaos theory (混沌理论), the butterfly effect maintains that the ________ breeze from a butterfly’s wing can ________ the path of a hurricane halfway across the world.

Imagine, then, the possibilities that exist ________ a single smile.

In January 2018, I was moving to New Jersey. I had two kids and a (n)_________ business, so a quiet train ride felt like a small vacation. Yet I found myself spending that _________ time through my social media feeds. So I put down my phone and _________ writing thank-you notes to people.

When I got off, I was in a noticeably _________ mood. The next day, I wrote more. When I finished, I _________ them up. There were 31—one for every day of the year so far. Something wonderful _________ me. What if I kept it up?

I decided to write one thank-you note for every day of that year. I had no shortage of people to whom I was _________. So I picked out a different theme for each _________ to keep on task. January was charity. _________ the notes wasn’t that time-consuming. Each was just two or three sentences long, taking just a few minutes to __________. I focused on the person I was writing to and what I wanted to say and the words came __________.

I was delighted to __________ a note back from a chef, Julie. She replied, “I don’t think I’ve ever received such a touching letter before. Your letter was a __________ that looking back is a good motivator (促进因素) for moving forward.” It __________ that many people are going through something most of the time. And I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t reached out. Part of the magic of what I __________ my “Thank-You Year” was reconnecting with people like Julie.