I was surprised when I received a short message from my father wishing me a happy birthday.

I had _____ to hear from my mother，my grandmother and my other relatives，but never from my father. Lying in bed，_____ of my father flooded back.

When I was a little boy，I regarded my father as a（n）_____  able to do anything. _____ ，things slowly began to _____ .The more I learned，the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us _____ and，at last，I didn't even like communicating with him.

My father，in my mind，had no _____ in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother _____ I needed something. He even refused to answer my _____ when I phoned from school. I got ______ the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer ______ me.

Over time, however, I began to wonder whether my ______ was right. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always ______ beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my ______ behavior toward him.

I planned thousands of times to ______ to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed about what I had done.

But that Saturday, I was so ______ by his short message. I ______ then that my father's love for me had never disappeared. I decided to send a ______ “Thank you, my dear father.”

Two days later, when I returned home, my mother told me that my father had been so ______ when he received my reply. She said he had ______ from morning till night. At that moment, I felt truly happy.

Children find meanings in their old family tales.

When Stephen Guyer's three children were growing up，he told them stories about how his grandfather，a banker，_____ all in the 1930s，but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the _____ times when his strong-minded grandfather was nearly _____，he loaded（装载）his family into a car. And he _____ them to see family members in Canada with a _____，“there are more important things in life than money”.

The _____ took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer moved to a _____ house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was _____ that his children，a daughter，15，and twins，22，would be upset. To his surprise，they weren't. _____，their reaction echoed（类似）their great-grandfather's. What they ______ was how warm the people were in the house and how ______ their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding family stories have surprising power to ______ children through hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon reflects a growing ______ in telling tales，evidenced by a rise in storytelling events and festivals.

A university ______ of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids' ability to ______ parents' stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The ______ is telling the stories in a way children can ______ them. We're not talking here about the kind of story that ______，“When I was a kid，I walked to school every day uphill，barefoot in the snow.”Instead，we should choose a story suited to the child's ______，and make eye contact（接触）to create“a personal experience”. We don't have to tell children what they should ______ from the story and what the moral is.

   I’m a woman, whose colleagues are nearly all women as well. So having a son can be a strange experience. I sometimes tell my husband that raising our 3-year-old boy _____ someone dropped me off on another _____ where I didn’t know the language and had no map.

My son makes me laugh, but his desires and _____ sometimes do feel as _____ to me as another galaxy (星系). He has taught me so much about the bigger man (my husband) in my life and even _____ about men in general.

When I get _____ at my husband now, I look at our son and stop. He was once as sweet and precious as my son, _____ he is so annoying now.

My mother-in-law’s attitude used to be puzzling to me, but now I _____ it. I love my son so much. If some woman ever _____ him, she’d be punished for that.

______ my daughter can’t find something, she will search. But my son is ______ calling, “Mommy ! Daddy! Where is my toy?” It’s so much like my husband. He will also spend 0.1 second ______ for it before calling out to me and ______ where the butter, cheese, or coat is. My son has taught me it’s a man’s thing.______, that doesn’t mean I won’t make him stop having the bad habit. I ______ will. Isn’t that what all moms say?

My husband showers every day on most ______ days. But on weekends or on vacation? Forget it. Now I understand that. My son ______ bath time and screams the whole time. I have to bribe (诱哄) him to get ______.

Nothing is sweeter for a mom than her baby boy. My daughter and I are equally ______, but in a different way. He tells me he loves me and how beautiful I am. I wish I could bottle that sweetness and ______ it for his teen years.

The Italian dinners we had every Sunday when I was a boy were feasts fit for a king. There 【小题1】（be）loaves of Italian bread ready to be eaten. They were great with butter and even 【小题2】（good）when you dipped them in the sauce（调味汁）. My grandma，【小题3】 we called“Nanny”，would always bake them a day ahead so they would be ready. I remember watching her hands make the dough（面团）. I would often ask to help only because I wanted to have 【小题4】 bite of the dough before she placed it in the pan to bake.

One day I 【小题5】（foolish）asked Nanny why she didn't just buy bread at the store 【小题6】（save）time. “Because it is not as good，”she said in 【小题7】（she）thick Italian accent. Then she laughed，smiled，and gave me a piece of bread to eat.

Nanny was right. Today I buy my bread at the store and it isn't as good. It is factory-made and lacks all the taste，【小题8】（warm），and love that Nanny put into hers. Store-bought happiness is a sad substitute for homemade joy. If you want lasting love，permanent peace，and 【小题9】（end）joy，then you will have to bake them 【小题10】your own.