One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift . Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap . On September 11th ,1958,Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, "I promised you a gift , and here it is." What an honor!I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories .I told it over and over how much I loved it! One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing bad been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days I Heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded _ . Christmas was coming. "Don't expect any presents this year," Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough." As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before . The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. "The hospital said we can bring Richard home !" "Thank God !" I heard Mum cry . From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love! Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?
Excitement. Happiness. Sadness. Disappointment.