Last Friday I took the time to donate blood. It is something I usually do every couple of months.

   I do it because I can. I donate because blood is always needed.

   I missed my prescheduled appointment back in the spring. Circumstances were such that I couldn’t go when I was supposed to go, then I got busy doing other things and simply forgot to reschedule a time to get back.

   This past couple of months I haven’t been doing all I usually do. Instead, I was doing other things I felt I needed to do and let a few other regular things slip. As it turns out, it became a summer of self-discovery in many ways. During the process a few of my now-habitual practices were allowed to go undone (even ignored).

   It might have been selfish of me, but maybe that was a good thing? Maybe we all need a break from the routines and regularities that usually fill our time here on earth?

   As this month (and summer itself) draws to a close, and a “project” I sort of fell into has reached the point where it has become a habit, I began feeling that it was time to go back to my regular duties. We need to do the regular things that we do; they are what makes up who we are. 

   We need routine.

   So, I got back into my routine of donating blood, I even booked my next appointment for October. You can make a blood donation every couple of months (technically, I can donate up to six times a year) and I know I should.

   So, I did.

   It is one of those things I feel I need to do. Donating blood is a selfless act. One blood donation can help save lines. Blood donations are used to treat a variety of medical conditions — cancer comes to mind quickly — and the valuable resource is used to replace blood lost in accidents, surgeries, and childbirth.

   Blood is vital, it carries oxygen and nutrients from head to toe, and without blood humans simply wouldn’t survive.

   It’s pretty important.

   Blood is in you to give. It costs you nothing but an hour or so of your time and the results are priceless: lifesaving in fact.

   The need for blood is rising. At certain times of the year the blood inventory in this country dwindles. It is important not only to give, but to give regularly.

   I just did, and I will again and again.

08/26/2024                                                                                                          j.g.l.