My dad lost his job a few years ago. At the time, I thought it didn’t matter much, but I was wrong. That event ______ my life.

We were sitting at dinner when my older brother Jack and I heard the ______. Dad said that his company wasn’t making enough money. They had to let a lot of people go. He said, “We are going to make some changes.” Jack and I looked at each other. At first, we didn’t know what they meant. Mom ______ that I would have to stop taking dance lessons for a while. Jack couldn’t go to the summer camp, ______. Mom and Dad said that we would have to save some money by cutting out things that weren’t ______.

The next few months we all helped out. Mom went back to work full-time. We had to cut out going to the movies and restaurants. Jack got a part-time ______ to make money in his free time. I took on the responsibility of doing ______ when my mother was busy doing her work. Though things were kind of hard, no one ______ and we encouraged each other.

After a few months, Dad found a job in the city. Dad thanked us for helping out. He said, “We all came together as a family.”

Later on, I thought about what Dad said and ______ he was right. We were all upset about giving things up, but we did what we could to help each other. Even though it was ______ that my dad lost his job, it showed me what a family is all about.