(一) what would i do for carol’s 50th birthday? it was __1__ that she didn’t want a party, certainly not a surprise party (that was an agreement at our marriage)． “how about a small dinner with __2__？” i asked. “no，” she said, “i hate being the center of __3__.” still, the milestone had to be marked.__4__ wasn’t going to let her get away with a stouffer’s frozen dinner and a movie video，__5__ this was all she said she wanted. i thought and thought, and __6__ making my decision, i sent a letter to her friends, asking them for photos, poems, and letters. “carol doesn’t __7__ a party in person, but i’m hoping to __8__ her a party in a book.” i bought a(n) __9__ with a friend’s advice, and what i wanted to__10__. for a few minutes at the end of every workday, i __11__ pull out the marking pens and make up the __12__， carol’s. photos of her in junior high, pictures of us __13__ the boys, original songs, notes, cards, and poems. it made me __14__ for all the years we had had together. the __15__ was more than the album. it was the friendship and love she had given to me and to our kids and to all her friends and family. you could__16__ it on every page. i wrapped it up and __17__ it home. “happy birthday, sweetie，” i said. “it’s not a frozen dinner or a video, but it’s __18__ you deserve.” she cried. she doesn’t __19__ like to cry, but i think she likes the book. she’s said so many times. and every time i remind her __20__ putting it together was a gift to me, too. ( )1.
