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Perhaps not everything about this COVID-19 pandemic situation has been negative.

Families are spending more time together. More people are honing their cooking skills by making more family meals at home.

Those of us who have no patience are being forced into embracing flexibility in situations of the unknown. For instance, will we have high school football and what will it look like for players and fans?

In many instances, we aren’t entirely sure yet what school will look like for our children in Natchez. When will it actually start? Will that date change? Will all go well and our children complete a semester before plans change?

We simply don’t know the answer to all the questions we have right now. We have to delay personal decisions in many cases until the last minute because of that unknown. Such isn’t comfortable for those who plan ahead and have little patience for change.

However, here is one thing you can count on and make plans for right now. St Mary Basilica will host a blood drive at its O’Connor Family Life Center on Main Street in Natchez from 1 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Your blood is needed now more than ever. You can go right now to bloodhero.com and sign up for an appointment to donate blood that day.

In addition to donating life-saving blood, those who donate on Aug. 12 will have their blood tested for COVID-19 antibodies. Those test results will be available in two weeks.

If you question whether you are eligible to donate, visit Vitalant.org, which will provide information about who is eligible to donate.

For more information about the Aug. 12 blood drive, please call St. Mary Basilica at 601-445-5616.