This week we celebrate a patriot who changed the way we look at ourselves and people around us. Remember those random acts of kindness you did and find out about the struggles of a woman working from home. Join me…

I want to plan something special for Fred this Veterans Day. I’m really happy that he recovered and I really want to make him feel a part of us all. When I floated this idea to my friends, they lapped it up with glee. As you guys know, all my friends are very attached to Fred. Especially Donna. She felt really sad when Fred was diagnosed with his illness. Donna reminisced about her days of political discussions with Fred on numerous occasions. Ethan and Emily, her children, are very fond of Fred as well. The others, like Adrian, Steve, Kate and Megan are very excited at the idea of doing something for him.

To this effect we have planned to get Fred’s friends on board as well. Since it won’t be possible for us to decorate his pad up if we plan to surprise him, we are planning to have it at my place. We’ll decorate the place with patriotic posters and other trappings. The idea is to give him a heroic salute from us all. He was very depressed he couldn’t be out during the Memorial Day. So this time around, I want him to forget all those dark days and be the Fred we all know and love. You are welcome to write in with your suggestions and wishes.

Emily, Donna’s daughter, is very different from Rachael despite being of the same age. While Rachael is more driven and ambitious, Emily likes to take life as it comes. Emily is someone who finds joy in the simple things of life. Emily enjoys her piano lessons, loves Art and runs miles away from anything to do with numbers or analysis. Donna sometimes complain, all in a lighter vein of course, that Emily is all that her mom is not! I think Emily has her own way of doing things and I keep assuring Donna that Emily will carve out a niche for herself.

Emily had taken up a project in school. Emily mailed questionnaires to many of her contacts, asking them to respond. The questions revolve around random acts of kindness that people indulge in. Emily plans to assimilate all that and make a sort of a scrapbook. It sounds pretty interesting. I answered the questionnaire myself. It asks about my deeds of random acts of sympathy that I have done in my life, as a child or as a grown-up. Last heard, the answers have been pretty interesting, but Emily had to cancel Rick’s answer because his random act of kindness was buying beer for a tramp!

After working some unhealthy hours at a departmental store, Kate decided to give up the job and make her own waves. Kate took up some freelance projects and started working from home. It was going off well during the initial weeks. Kate was making a good impression on her clients because she delivered the work on time and without flaws. Then things went wrong. Irina, who has all the news, put on her gossip tone and announced to us over snacks that Kate was reeling under the weight of work and that’s why Kate couldn’t make it.

When we quizzed her on this, Irina informed that Kate lost some clients because quality work brought in more stuff. But Kate gets diverted because of distractions at home. There was no stopping Irina, “You know how it is! Laundry, shopping, cooking, getting the groceries, all these get into your work timings and you get your focus all over the place. Poor girl has been trying to finish her work on time with no real result to speak of.” We got it then. It was a problem many people working from home suffered from. Hope Kate pulls her act together and soon.

We, I and Adrian, had a rather interesting discussion the other day. We were watching some old functions and were considerable bored by the thank you speeches these celebrities delivered. We were discussing on what to say and what not to. Adrian said with a big smile, “I think reading from a list is so boring!” I agreed. It was extremely irritating when they took a sheet of paper and thanked people by the dozens! I added, “You know, these people sometimes try to be funny and end up sounding rather idiotic! They should mind their humor and keep it classy.”

Other points were quickly raised. There are these people who cry when they receive any trophy. The point is that when they thank with a fake tear, it becomes so painfully obvious. Some have an agenda when they go up on stage to thank their peers. They make a statement by thanking some and forgetting others conveniently. “It seems very petty, you know,” Adrian said with a sad nod of the head, “Some don’t forget their squabbles even in their moment of glory.” I think that was a nice line from Adrian there! I don’t think he would disappoint if he was up on the stage receiving one.

This week’s Zen quote comes from Naomi Williams: “It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.” Maybe the complaining people up on stage should learn from her!