Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart. When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn’t solve anything.

Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can’t just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say “Hi” and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary. It would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance (表达)of information, means of communication such as a letter or a message”. To keep a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it's Just by writing a note.

When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you’ll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn’t feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, but when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren’t as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie’s parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

Communication isn’t a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie’s, tell the other person how you feel-listening is the key factor to communication.

   Even if you think that your parents are mean-spirited（小气的）at times, loving your parents is a normal and fulfilling part of life. You love them for the fact that they created you, raised you, and are in part, a source of who you are. 【小题1】

Tell them you love them every morning. A gentle "good morning" and "I love you" will warm the coldest heart. Remember that they brought you into this world.

Respect them more and cherish these moments. You can use these moments to learn from them, preparing yourself for the day when you're off on your own. It's OK to get angry but angry actions don't help you or your parents. Act calmly, cool off, write down your feelings, or talk to a friend. 【小题2】

Obey their requests. It will make you have a better attitude and earn you more respect from them. It may seem like you are going through hell when you don't get what you want or you are not recognized. However, you had better remember they keep a roof over your head when it's raining or snowing. Understand that parents are human beings and make mistakes. 【小题3】 Since you can forgive your friends, why not forgive your parents？

【小题4】 Do things with your parents like watching TV, or going somewhere with them. Anyway, spend as much time with them as you can. Listen to their old stories and learn from them. You will find they are your teachers in this way or another.

Some people simply may not be able to love their parents. 【小题5】 Seek help if you are being abused（虐待）in any way. Parents do not have a right to harm you.

   The moment Aleeya opened her eyes from sleep, she knew it was Mom’s birthday. She _______ quickly and ran to the kitchen. There was no birthday _______. Then Aleeya went to the refrigerator, _______ its door and looked inside. There was no birthday cake in the refrigerator and no birthday cake _______.

She could not _______ that; she opened the door of the refrigerator again and put her head all the way in. Maybe there was a birthday cake _______ somewhere. But there was none, and she felt very _______. Just then she saw the apple butter-Mom’s ________! Aleeya took the jar of apple butter and ________ it on the table. She got a plate, a spoon, and a piece of bread. She opened the jar, took some apple butter and spread it on the bread the ________ Mom liked-not too thick, and evenly（均匀地）to the sides.

Aleeya became happy then and a gentle smile ________ over her face. It became bigger and bigger as she _____ to Mom’s room with the ________ bread. “Happy Birthday to Mom. Happy Birthday to Mom,” she _______.

Mom was ________. She took the plate and held her daughter in her arms.

“Pretend（假装）there are ________ ,” Aleeya said, “and blow them out.”

Mom closed her eyes and ________ a wish. Then she blew out the imaginary candles.

“Was it a good ________?” asked Aleeya.

“It was the best one ever in my life, my baby,”said Mom.

   I grew up on a 10-acre farm in the small rural community of Catawissa，Missouri，as the sixth of seven children. My parents，Archie and Altha，often _________ during meals how everything on the table came from the _________.

Besides running the farm，Dad was also a _________. in the fall of 1970，he was working on a house when the ladder broke all at once. His back was fractured（折断）in two places and _________ needed rescue.

He stayed in the hospital for three weeks，_________his back to be treated correctly so the bones would _________ perfectly.

On Thanksgiving Day，Dad was still in the hospital. We always _________ pigs the day after the holiday so that we had enough pork _________for the next year，and that year my uncle _________ with a couple of cousins to help my three older brothers prepare our year's supply.

After Dad returned home，he was in a back brace and saddened for __________ to work. Worse still，the doctor told us his chance of complete recovery was __________. I was too young to realize our family had no __________ coming in as Christmas approached.

One night we heard a car coming up the long driveway. Always __________ about company（客人），we kids were curious about who was visiting.

Peggy Phelan was at the door，holding an envelope __________ with money which，according to her account，she had __________ in the community. And she was there to __________ it！

Dad tried to __________ but Peggy would have none of it. I can still hear her saying，"Archie，whenever someone's baler（压捆机）is broken，you bale their hay. Every time someone passes away，Altha is cooking. It's our __________."

That evening，I understood what being a good neighbor was，and that __________ my parents were good neighbors, their __________ would be paid back.