Volunteering wasn't my cup of tea. The thought of giving up my precious 1 in exchange for nothing didn't interest me. But then, at the age of fifty, suddenly, I had way 2 time on my hands, as the result of a medical condition.
The first year of my 3 retirement was spent mostly sitting for hours 4 feeling sorry for myself. The following year I was so 5 with life that I cleaned out more closets than I'd ever realized one home could have. By the time the third year rolled around, I 6 that, in fact, I'd been 7 the thing that I'd valued most in my life.
So the moment I saw an advertisement for 8 at the local Humane Society shelter for animals, I made a decision and dashed off an e-mail to the shelter letting them know of my 9 . Much to my surprise, soon, before the day was 10 I had a return e-mail and I went right to work the next day. There was never a boring moment and 11 a new animal that needed love and the reassurance (保证) that it would soon find its new 12 .
A fresh enthusiasm for a(n) 13 life can often be found in the strangest places. I would have 14 the opportunity, if I had not been willing to 15 the most precious thing in life-my time.
