My generous husband turned 38 today, and he continued his two birthday traditions which are nothing like mine:
- bake a cake and take it to work for his colleagues;
- donate blood (he also donates platelets and plasma, and today he donated red blood cells, too — today the clinic gave him this t-shirt).
Can you imagine how much it would boost the general blood supply if everyone who didn’t donate at all — and could — at least did it on their birthday? Paulo donates all year and has been doing so for many years. He was given a certificate of recognition a few years ago for reaching a milestone, and since last year he’s been exempt from most of the small user fees that are associated with universal health care in Portugal, such as doctor’s visits.
This year Paulo took it up a notch: he invited the family over for dinner, which resulted in a slew of rapid housekeeping last night and a flurry of food-related activity today. (It should come as no surprise, then, that he’s fast asleep on the couch with Ice right now.)
Next year Paulo’s birthday is on a weekend, which means he won’t be baking a cake to take to work. Ice and I have time to come up with something better!
July 31, 2015
Album: Portugal [Summer 2015]
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