That’s my plan for Monday morning.  This is one of the easiest ways I give back to my community. In less than 2 hours, I can change the world for someone else.  I copied this from the website of the hospital where I donate every 6-8 weeks:

When you become a volunteer blood donor you give:

…another birthday
…another anniversary
…another day at the beach
…another night under the stars
…another talk with a friend
…another laugh
…another hug
…another chance

What are you donating and how does it help patients?

Platelets are irregularly shaped colorless cells that are present in blood. Their sticky surface lets them, along with other substances, form clots to stop bleeding. Patients who need platelets are often critically ill from diseases such as leukemia and other types of cancer, or certain blood disorders that interfere with the body’s ability to produce platelets. Many of today’s modern treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy destroy platelets. Our need for donors is never-ending because platelets can only be stored for five days.

Plasma makes up about 55% of your blood.

It is the fluid portion of your blood, which carries all other blood components such as coagulation factors and plasma proteins that may be lacking or defective in recipients. Patients who receive plasma nclude those with: severe burns, organ transplant, clotting disorders, rare blood diseases, severe trauma, and patients undergoing surgical procedures. Those who receive plasma often have lost a significant amount of blood and fluid and may require multiple transfusions. Plasma may be frozen and stored for up to one year.

Red Blood Cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body.

These cells are most often needed after significant blood loss through trauma or for patients undergoing surgery or experiencing anemia. Red blood cells can be donated every two months (56 days).

Does it hurt?

Donating blood is not painful. You’ll only feel a slight pinch when the needle is placed in your arm. We have TVs and a selection of current DVD movies available at each station so that you can relax and feel at home while donating blood. We also have wireless internet access so you can bring your laptop while you donate.

How can you help?

Give a special gift of life! A volunteer blood donor is a very special person. When you become a donor you know you are helping someone who is in critical need of a blood product. There is no way to obtain a life giving donation except through the generosity of healthy donors like YOU!

What is holding you back from being a donor?  Fear?  Time?  Apathy?  All of those are conquerable! Go save a life people.  Your community needs you.

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It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting here at the dining room table looking out a window that faces the mountains. Actually, most of the windows in this house have a pretty fantastic view of them. The weather today is absolutely beautiful and I am a little sad that I’ll be leaving in a few hours to drive back to Denver. I could use a few more days here.

The weekend was good. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I did accomplish all of my goals for the weekend. I slept in every morning until 9 am or later. I spent a whole afternoon with Linda. I did my best to live in the moment and not make a million plans and fill up every minute with “stuff”. I left my in-laws a lovely note telling them how much they mean to me and how grateful I was for them giving me a place to get away from my busy life for a few days. Though I did enjoy a Cherry Coke and some Cool Ranch Doritos, I ate other things as well…some of them were even healthy.

I’m going home with some definite ideas of things I need to work on, and one of the most important on the list is making time for mini-retreats. I can’t afford (financially or any other way) to drive to Buena Vista every weekend, alone, so I can get refreshed and refocused. I need those things, but I don’t have to be 2 1/2 hours from my house to do it. I do have a “day of rest” every other week, but my silly self tends to fill it up with activities I feel like I should do and I usually end up inviting a friend to spend my time with me. It’s not that it’s a bad thing to do that, but I wonder if underneath it all I’m avoiding being alone so I don’t have to face some of the things I struggle with.

I love people. I love spending one on one time with them. That is really difficult to do in this season of my life. I have three young children who need me and we can’t afford babysitters. I want to focus on my husband and give him the time, attention, and encouragement he needs and deserves. I rely so heavily on my day of rest to catch up with friends for coffee and personal chats we never get to finish on the phone, that I forsake the “me” time that I really need. I am going to have to be stronger in that area for awhile so I can be refilled not just with relationships with people, but the relationships I have with myself and with God.

Monday:  The last thing we did before coming back to Denver was visit Cascade Falls on Mt. Princeton.  This is a picture I took last summer.  I try to visit there every time I make a trip to Buena Vista.  I climb all over the rocks to find a good place to sit and think.  Speaking of rocks, I found 9 heart stones not including this one which was too big to dig up.  It measured about 9 inches across, but went deep into the ground.  It wouldn’t budge even with me digging around it for awhile. Hmmm…could be another lesson I’m supposed to pay attention to.

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