giving blood

I gave blood today, as I do about every 8 weeks, at the Red Cross. It all went smoothly as usual although a little extra blood spurted out when the nurse put the needle in and again when she took it out. We were both surprised at that. Happily it stopped pretty quickly. Some years ago I was sitting at the snack area (one of the perks is a nice little snack) and happened to glance down and saw that blood was running rather freely out of my arm. Quite dramatic, or so the staff seemed to think, but easily fixed with more bandages and an ice pack. Nothing so exciting today. I like to give blood because I get a mini check up - blood pressure, OK; pulse rate (always good to know I still have one); temperature, normal. Reminds me of a funny conversation at church a couple of weeks ago. I asked an older gentleman how he was and he responded "Well, I woke up on the right side of the grass this morning so I'm fine." Good attitude I think. Perhaps the best part of giving blood are the instructions for after: no heavy lifting, eat plenty of good food, drink plenty and take it easy. I take them seriously and follow the instructions very faithfully. Of course it sounds an awful lot like my usual retiree routine.