When did you realize exactly who your son or daughter really was?
My life was shattered. The toxic woman I had been involved with had nearly succeeded in destroying me. There was nothing left. I was in shambles. All the money, all the savings, my job, and my friends were all gone. And now the house and car were going to be repossessed.
My body was alive, but my soul had been hijacked. It was all I could do to hang on.
My 8 year old son Avi was all that remained. I had managed to protect him, even though there was nothing left of me. I would have given my life to keep him from harm.
When Avi’s birthday came I was unable to get him much more than a card. We were in survival mode and I had to use what was left just to keep us alive.
“I’m sorry Avi,” I told him. “I can’t buy you anything for your birthday.”
He looked up at me and smiled. And then told me something I have never forgotten, nor have I ever failed to give him.
“Dad,” he said. “Kids don’t want stuff…they want love.”
知识点：
1）shattered /ˈʃæt̬.ɚd/ 破碎的，打碎的
e.g. “It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered.” ― Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception
补充：My life is shattered. /My life is in pieces. /My life is in a mess.
2) toxic /ˈtɑːk.sɪk/ adj. 恶毒的；造成阴影的
英文解释：causing you a lot of harm and unhappiness over a long period of time
搭配：toxic parents; 恶毒的父母; a toxic friendship带毒的友谊
3) The toxic woman I had been involved with had nearly succeeded in destroying me.
省略that 引导的定语从句：
判定标准：两个名词，逻辑意思出现断层。（woman I)
背后原理：that 引导定语从句，当that在定语从句中作宾语的时候，可以省略。
4) be involved with 跟…有牵扯
第一个意思：to be having a romantic relationship with someone, especially a sexual one
e.g. The senator denied that he was romantically involved with a member of his staff.
第二个意思：to spend time with someone that you have a relationship with
e.g. Fathers are encouraged to be more involved with their families.
5）succeed in doing something 成功做某事
6) be in (a) shambles 很混乱
e.g. After the earthquake, the town lay in shambles. 地震之后，这个小镇一片混乱。
e.g. The TV set was in a shambles after John tried to fix it. 在约翰试图修理电视之后，电视机完全散架了。
7）repossess /ˌripə’zɛs/ v. 取回,收回
前缀:re-往回
词汇：possess 拥有
8）My body was alive, but my soul had been hijacked. 我的身体只剩下了一句躯壳。
9）Can you take a photo/picture of us? 和Can you take a photo/picture for us?
10）keep…from …使..远离
搭配：keep someone from danger/harm 是某人远离危险/伤害
补充：keep someone safe 使某人安全
表达：I am willing to sacrifice(牺牲）my life to keep him safe. 我愿意牺牲我的生命来保护他的安全。
11）look up at someone 抬头看看某人；look up 查..信息
12) nor have I ever failed to give him 部分倒装
否定词置于句首，部分倒装。
部分倒装：提前be动词，助动词或者情态动词。
e.g. I won’t go to Peter’s birthday party tomorrow. Neither will I.
12) stuff 东西，用法；话题。
e.g. I'll go pick up all the stuff we need. 我去买我们需要的东西。
e.g. Hey. Would you mind watching over my stuff for me for just a minute? 你能帮我看一下我的东西吗？
e.g. We really hit it off. We have a lot of stuff to talk about. 我们很聊的来。我们有很多话题可以聊。
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