The day my sister Kathy got married was the worst day of my life. It’s not because I had anything ________ her husband-to-be (未婚夫), Mike. In fact, I liked him a lot. I just didn’t like the situation of the ________. Kathy and I were the last two remaining children at home. There was a good division of labor (劳动) between us. She helped Mom inside the house, and I helped Dad outside.

Our life as a ________ was comfortable. And I didn’t want anything to change. “Why do they have to get married?” I asked Dad a few days before the ________. “Shouldn’t they just date for a few more years? Wouldn’t that be the best thing for them to do?”

Dad never used 30 words when he could ________ with an answer in 3 words. “No!” he said. His ________ and direct answer surprised and sobered (使清醒) me. I accepted this important change in my life, ________ I wasn’t happy about it. That night before my sister’s wedding, I couldn’t sleep. I slipped (溜出) out of my house and spent the night ________ through the streets of our small town. ________, I found myself in front of Mike’s house. I was so angry that I tried to pull out a part of the sprinkler (洒水器) in their front yard. When I came back home the next morning, Mom and Dad were ________ to take Kathy to the church for the wedding.

Mom was aware of the struggle. I had to accept this change. She wrapped her arms around me, holding me as tears ran down ray cheeks. At last she smiled at me and said,“I know this is hard for you, but something that is ________ doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to be better. You’ll see it.”

She was ________, of course. My relationship with Kathy turned into a warm friendship despite the new distance between us, and Mike became a beloved brother. Besides, I had Mom and Dad all to myself throughout my high school years.

“Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are...” Jimmy was ________ happily with his friends. He laughed and then started to tell stories to his friends.

However, this would never happen in ________ life. My 8-year-old brother, Jimmy, is an autistic (自闭症) child. He doesn’t know how to ________ with others and can’t do many things by himself. He also has difficulty ________ his teachers in class. These things make him feel ________ at school.

To take better care of him, my mom quit her job and stayed at home. She took Jimmy to the ________ to get treatment (治疗). However, it hasn’t worked very well. Jimmy still doesn’t know how to ________ at school. He can’t listen to the teacher and doesn’t understand what to do. He always forgets to bring his things home and even ________ his books. My mom is always worried, but when she talks about Jimmy, she still ________—it seems that she is still proud of her son.

As Jimmy’s sister, I am also ________ about him. I heard that some students ________ him to misbehave and then laugh at him. The boys even stole others’ pencils and hid them in Jimmy’s bag. Then they told the teacher that Jimmy was a ________.

Every time I ________ about these things, I get very angry and upset, but my mom asks me not to. She says that Jimmy doesn’t ________ it at all. He is always smiling, even though life is ________ for him. I love him and I hope things will get better soon and he will grow up happily.

I recently gave my adult (成年人) class homework. It was to “ go to someone you love _______ tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never _______ those words to before or haven’t shared those words with for a long time”.

That doesn’t sound like _______ homework, but most of the men in that group were over 35 and were taught that expressing feelings was not “macho (男子汉的)” for _______.

At the beginning of our next class, I asked _______ someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. One of the men _______ his hand. He appeared quite _______ and a bit excited.

He said, “At first, I didn’t feel that I had anyone to say those _______ to. But as I began driving home, I knew who I needed to say ‘I love you’ to. Five years ago, my father and I had a quarrel (争吵) and we _______ spoke to each other.”

“The next morning, I called my dad. When he answered the phone, I said, ‘Dad, can I ________ tonight? I have something to tell you.’ He was a bit surprised and finally agreed.”

“At 5:30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell. And Dad answered the ________.”

“I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.’”

“His face softened and he began to cry. He reached out and ________ me and said, ‘I love you too, son.’”

“Dad and I hugged for a moment longer. I really felt great.”

“Two days after that ________, my dad had a heart disease and was sent to the hospital. I don’t know if he’ll ________ it.”

“My message to all of you is this: Never be ________ about sharing your love with your parents. Don’t wait to say ‘I love you’”.