jr says he misses me

Jr has been working me to death lately.

Last weekend, we cleaned up the front yard, and it was a lot of work, but a nice day and I chose to find it all so rewarding, really, in the end.

But that only took maybe half a day.  As compared to this Saturday past, which was the whole day Jr and I spent in the back yard, weeding, pruning, raking, gathering, and then, you know, rinse, repeat.  Over and over and over for maybe six or seven hours.  Interrupted only by lunch at Cafe Zuppas for a crab avocado melt (thank you very much Lisa B for introducing me to that delightful sammie) and a shared-with-Jr creme brulee. Yum.

Oh wait.  Back to my whining.  It was a long day, outside on a beautiful spring day, so really why am I whining?  Especially since the back yard looks so tidy now with everything pruned back and little green shoots poking through the freshly raked beds.  Blooms are just around the corner.  Yes, it is totally worth the effort. 

Even if I couldn't hardly walk the next day.  So.Stiff.  Did not see that coming.

And that was the day Jr and I had agreed we would go together to the Red Cross to donate platelets.

Have you done that before?  I had not.  Jr did it 24 times last year.  I know that because he took me to the donor appreciation dinner on Friday night at Gardner Village, which was just the right length of time--not too long--and it gave me the opportunity to enjoy a nice meal and also beam with pride for his willingness to help others so much.

The last time I donated whole blood, they told me I was a good candidate for apheresis--platelet donation.  When people have chemo or organ transplants or other issues that require blood transfusions, one platelet donation is the same as 4-6 whole blood donations, except platelets have to be used within five days so the need is pretty much constant.  Jr was so excited to have someone come with him for the two-hour donation process.  You lay still and they put a needle in one arm to take blood out, then remove the platelets, and return the remaining blood products back into your body through a needle in your other arm.  I wasn't too worried about it, but honestly wasn't sure I wanted to commit to two hours every other Sunday.  Kind of selfish of me really and there isn't a requirement that I go back as often as possible, I just figured if I started doing it, I'd want to keep doing it.

So.  To make a long story short (which I'm really not very good at) we went in, Jr's iron was too low so he couldn't donate, but mine was fine so I did. 

In a couple of weeks when I donate platelets again, I'm going to remember to drink lots of water beforehand, ask for lots of calcium beforehand, and everything will go even better, I'm sure.  Not that it was all that bad, but let's just say that donating whole blood has never been a big deal for me but this was a bit bigger deal.  Not huge, just not as easy or quick.  But one platelet donation equals 4-6 whole blood donations, so probably makes sense for it to be a bigger deal, right?

Because it takes two hours to donate platelets, and you have to hold your arms still during that two hours, you can watch a movie if you want to while you lay there, on a full-body heating pad, which felt marvelous on my stiff body.  While I donated, Jr and I watched Drop Dead Gorgeous, which seemed like it was really funny, but the whole donation thing had me feeling a bit foggy, so I'm going to have to watch it again sometime. 

So.  Even if Jr is working me nearly to death in the yard and at the Red Cross, look at me getting benefits from the effort--a tidy yard ready to go wild with blooms, a full-body heating pad under my stiff self, the opportunity to watch a movie every other week with Jr, and there's probably somebody out there who needs Jr's and my B+ platelets.

All good.